Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) have been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the eleven analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $109.80.

A number of research firms have issued reports on VKTX. StockNews.com raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. HC Wainwright upped their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $90.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 7.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ VKTX opened at $49.58 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.19. Viking Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $10.34 and a twelve month high of $99.41. The company has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -53.31 and a beta of 1.00.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.23) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics will post -0.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Lawson Macartney sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.67, for a total value of $137,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 47,965 shares in the company, valued at $3,293,756.55. This trade represents a 4.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.90, for a total value of $69,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,354,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $164,609,397.30. This trade represents a 0.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 377,817 shares of company stock worth $27,607,313 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC grew its position in Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% during the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.