Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Buy" from the fourteen analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $87.15.
A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 price target for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley dropped 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, Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price target (down previously from $95.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, April 28th.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Viking Therapeutics
Insiders Place Their Bets
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 stock was sold at an average price of $27.80, for a total transaction of $747,514.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,388,014 shares of the company's stock, valued at $66,386,789.20. This trade represents a 1.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 4,266 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.76, for a total transaction of $118,424.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 168,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,682,001.60. The trade was a 2.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,421 shares of company stock worth $984,405 over the last three months. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VKTX. Quarry LP increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,135 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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. FIL Ltd increased its position in Viking Therapeutics by 116.8% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,203 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 222,100.0% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 2,222 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 2,221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 170.2% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Viking Therapeutics Price Performance
Shares of VKTX traded up $0.44 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $28.16. The stock had a trading volume of 2,383,469 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,029,883. Viking Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $18.92 and a 1-year high of $81.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -24.49 and a beta of 0.62. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.90.
Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.31) by ($0.10). During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.26) EPS. Viking Therapeutics's revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Viking Therapeutics Company Profile
(
Get Free ReportViking 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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