Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Bumped Up to Strong-Buy by UBS Group

Key Points

• UBS Group upgraded Viking Therapeutics to “strong buy,” contributing to a consensus “moderate buy” rating and an average analyst price target of $98.90.
• VKTX shares fell $2.20 to $25.17 during Wednesday trading, near the company’s 12-month low of $24.94, while the stock’s market capitalization stood at approximately $3.17 billion.
• Institutional investors own about 76.03% of Viking Therapeutics, with BlackRock establishing the largest newly reported position at roughly $241.5 million; insiders own 5.30% after recent sales tied to tax withholding.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at UBS Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

VKTX has been the subject of several other research reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Viking Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Sunday, October 4th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Oppenheimer set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $98.90.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of VKTX traded down $2.20 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $25.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,570,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,789,389. Viking Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $24.94 and a 12-month high of $43.15. The stock has a market cap of $3.17 billion, a PE ratio of -5.40 and a beta of 0.66. The company's 50 day moving average is $32.18 and its 200 day moving average is $33.04.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.58) EPS. Viking Therapeutics's revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics will post -4.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Greg Zante sold 21,217 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.47, for a total value of $710,132.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 212,204 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,102,467.88. The trade was a 9.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 422,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,149,777.20. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 187,951 shares of company stock valued at $6,268,442. Corporate insiders own 5.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $241,458,000. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter worth $22,393,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $20,699,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $15,910,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter worth $14,971,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company's stock.

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.

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