Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Given Average Recommendation of "Buy" by Analysts

Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Buy" from the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $87.15.

Several research analysts have recently commented on VKTX shares. Citigroup began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan bought 1,240 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $24.15 per share, for a total transaction of $29,946.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,240 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,946. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VKTX. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 75.9% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 716 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 536 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 116.8% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,203 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 222,100.0% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 2,222 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 2,221 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of VKTX stock opened at $27.61 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $26.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.73. Viking Therapeutics has a one year low of $18.92 and a one year high of $81.73. The stock has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a P/E ratio of -27.61 and a beta of 0.75.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.31) by ($0.10). The firm's revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.26) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.

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