HC Wainwright Reaffirms "Buy" Rating for Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Key Points

• HC Wainwright has reiterated a "buy" rating for Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) with a target price of $102.00, indicating a potential upside of 325.60% from the stock's previous close.
• The stock has recently seen volatility, trading down $18.12 to $23.97, while having a one-year low of $18.92 and a high of $81.73.
• Viking Therapeutics has attracted attention from several analysts; two rated it as a Strong Buy, while a majority maintain a Buy rating, leading to an average consensus target price of $86.92.

HC Wainwright reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $102.00 price target on the biotechnology company's stock.

VKTX has been the topic of a number of other reports. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Viking Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 target price (down from $95.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $86.92.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of VKTX traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $26.00. The stock had a trading volume of 10,551,665 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,757,632. Viking Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $18.92 and a 52 week high of $81.73. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $31.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.64. The company has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.99 and a beta of 0.67.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.58) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.44) by ($0.14). During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.20) earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up NaN% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 26,889 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.80, for a total transaction of $747,514.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,388,014 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $66,386,789.20. The trade was a 1.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 4,266 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.77, for a total value 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. The trade was a 1.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 35,421 shares of company stock valued at $984,405. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 58.4% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Quarry LP grew its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 1,621.4% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,205 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,135 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 64.8% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,363 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.