Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Has Average Price Target of $98.90 According to Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a moderately bullish view of Viking Therapeutics, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average 12-month price target of $98.90, substantially above the reported share price of $25.05.
• Viking reported a quarterly loss of $1.10 per share, beating expectations for a $1.21 loss; analysts anticipate a full-year loss of approximately $4.46 per share.
• Insiders sold shares worth about $6.27 million over the past three months, primarily to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards, while institutional investors own 76.03% of the company.

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $98.90.

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $87.00 to $85.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. UBS Group began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $94.00 price target for the company. Barclays raised Viking Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VKTX opened at $25.05 on Tuesday. Viking Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $24.94 and a 52 week high of $43.15. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $32.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.01. The firm has a market cap of $3.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.38 and a beta of 0.66.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.21) by $0.11. The business's revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.58) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics will post -4.46 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Brian Lian sold 148,517 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.32, for a total transaction of $4,948,586.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,572,441 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $85,713,734.12. This represents a 5.46% decrease in their position. The transaction 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, CFO Greg Zante sold 21,217 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 $710,132.99. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 212,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,102,467.88. This trade represents a 9.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 187,951 shares of company stock worth $6,268,442. 5.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VKTX. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Ballast Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $56,000. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $50,000. Institutional investors own 76.03% of the company's stock.

About Viking Therapeutics

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.