Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Receives "Buy" Rating from HC Wainwright

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reaffirmed by HC Wainwright in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $102.00 price target on the biotechnology company's stock. HC Wainwright's price objective indicates a potential upside of 289.34% from the stock's current price.

VKTX has been the topic of a number of other reports. 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 report on Thursday, April 24th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (down from $95.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Viking Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $87.15.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of VKTX stock traded down $0.75 on Wednesday, reaching $26.20. 1,305,075 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,047,691. The company has a 50-day moving average of $26.98 and a 200-day moving average of $30.79. The company has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.65 and a beta of 0.65. Viking Therapeutics has a one year low of $18.92 and a one year high of $81.73.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.31) by ($0.10). During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.26) earnings per share. The company's revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan bought 1,240 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $24.15 per share, with a total value of $29,946.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,240 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,946. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 4.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $1,715,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 9,209.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 24,392 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $589,000 after purchasing an additional 24,130 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $429,000. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 96,702 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,891,000 after purchasing an additional 14,873 shares during the period. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 40,753 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,640,000 after buying an additional 3,192 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is 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.

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