Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $89.75.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VKTX. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $96.00 price objective (down from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock.

Insider Activity

In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan purchased 1,240 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $24.15 per share, for a total transaction of $29,946.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,240 shares in the company, valued at $29,946. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VKTX. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 286.0% in the 1st quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 20,245 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $489,000 after purchasing an additional 15,000 shares in the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 101.7% during the first quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 23,800 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $575,000 after buying an additional 12,000 shares during the last quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 10.5% in the first quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 6,478 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $150,000 after buying an additional 616 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at about $958,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 222,100.0% during the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 2,222 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 2,221 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

VKTX stock opened at $23.60 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.60 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $27.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.54. Viking Therapeutics has a one year low of $18.92 and a one year high of $81.86.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.25) earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Viking Therapeutics

Viking Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development of novel therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders. The company's lead drug candidate is VK2809, an orally available tissue and receptor-subtype selective agonist of the thyroid hormone receptor beta (TRß), which is in Phase IIb clinical trials to treat patients with biopsy-confirmed non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, as well as NAFLD.