Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Raymond James

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Raymond James from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $116.00 price target on the biotechnology company's stock, up from their prior price target of $115.00. Raymond James' price objective points to a potential upside of 67.97% from the company's current price.

VKTX has been the topic of a number of other reports. BTIG Research boosted their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $110.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Viking Therapeutics to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $112.38.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 11.5 %

Viking Therapeutics stock traded down $8.95 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $69.06. 7,460,935 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,274,713. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $72.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.62. Viking Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $8.28 and a fifty-two week high of $99.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -74.26 and a beta of 1.12.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.27) by $0.01. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.25) earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics will post -1.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 281,425 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.66, for a total transaction of $22,136,890.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 348,508 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,413,639.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CFO Greg Zante sold 66,756 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.69, for a total transaction of $4,986,005.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 174,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,059,845.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 281,425 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.66, for a total value of $22,136,890.50. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 348,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,413,639.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Steadfast Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth $4,264,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the first quarter worth about $802,000. Bamco Inc. NY grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 59.1% during the first quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 493,259 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $40,447,000 after buying an additional 183,192 shares during the last quarter. Aristides Capital LLC acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at about $410,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 61,417 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $5,037,000 after acquiring an additional 6,181 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viking Therapeutics Company Profile

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.