Citigroup Issues Positive Forecast for Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Price

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by investment analysts at Citigroup from $31.00 to $38.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the biotechnology company's stock. Citigroup's target price suggests a potential upside of 14.46% from the company's previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price objective (down previously from $95.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $86.92.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

VKTX traded down $1.22 during trading on Thursday, reaching $33.20. 3,790,961 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,116,839. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.59. Viking Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $18.92 and a 12-month high of $81.73. The company has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.70 and a beta of 0.62.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.58) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.44) by ($0.14). During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.20) EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up NaN% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CEO Brian Lian sold 26,889 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.80, for a total transaction of $747,514.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,388,014 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $66,386,789.20. This trade represents a 1.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 4,266 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.77, for a total transaction of $118,466.82. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 377,535 shares in the company, valued at $10,484,146.95. This trade represents a 1.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 35,421 shares of company stock worth $984,405 in the last 90 days. 4.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 1,621.4% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,205 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 1,135 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in Viking Therapeutics by 64.8% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,363 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd lifted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 116.8% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,203 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 648 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its stake 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. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 571.4% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,041 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 1,737 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company's stock.

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.