Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $98.90

Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $98.10.

Several analysts have recently commented on VKTX shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Viking Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $87.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $114.00 to $106.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 18,217 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.47, for a total transaction of $609,722.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 422,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,149,777.20. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 148,517 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.32, for a total value of $4,948,586.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,572,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $85,713,734.12. The trade was a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 187,951 shares of company stock valued at $6,268,442 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Ballast Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $53,000. 76.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 5.5%

Viking Therapeutics stock opened at $24.40 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $31.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.78. The company has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.24 and a beta of 0.66. Viking Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $24.36 and a 52 week high of $43.15.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.10) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.21) by $0.11. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.58) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics will post -4.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Viking Therapeutics

Viking Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in San Diego, California. Founded in 2012, the company develops therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders, with a focus on conditions involving obesity, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and other liver and lipid disorders.

Viking’s lead program is VK2735, an investigational dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist being developed in injectable and oral formulations for obesity and related metabolic conditions.