Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Strong Sell”

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) from a sell rating to a strong sell rating in a research report released on Sunday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Zacks Research raised Viking Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Oppenheimer set a $120.00 price target on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.67.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of VKTX stock opened at $29.94 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.77 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.42 and a beta of 0.66. Viking Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $25.77 and a 1-year high of $43.15. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.45.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.21) by $0.11. The firm’s revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.58) EPS. Analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics will post -4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, CFO Greg Zante sold 21,217 shares of the business’s 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 $710,132.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 212,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,102,467.88. The trade was a 9.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 18,217 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.47, for a total value of $609,722.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 422,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,149,777.20. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their position. 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 sold 187,951 shares of company stock valued at $6,268,442 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of VKTX. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $251,884,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at $241,458,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 24.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,994,509 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $70,183,000 after buying an additional 385,903 shares during the period. Artia Global Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 392.1% during the 4th quarter. Artia Global Partners LP now owns 719,365 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $25,307,000 after acquiring an additional 573,186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ADAR1 Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at $22,393,000. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Viking Therapeutics Company Profile

Viking Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders. The company’s research programs are aimed at conditions including obesity, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), and other diseases involving the liver and metabolism.

Viking’s leading program is VK2735, an investigational dual agonist of the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) receptors.