Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Viking Therapeutics' stock rating has been downgraded by Zacks Research from a "hold" to a "strong sell," reflecting negative sentiment among analysts.
• Despite the downgrade, Viking Therapeutics has a mixture of ratings, with two Strong Buy, nine Buy, two Hold, and two Sell ratings, and an average price target of $86.42.
• The company reported a quarterly loss of ($0.81) EPS, missing estimates, and has been focusing on developing therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on VKTX. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, September 29th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $86.42.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

VKTX opened at $31.42 on Tuesday. Viking Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $18.92 and a 12 month high of $81.73. The stock has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -20.54 and a beta of 0.64. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $28.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.54.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.81) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.67) by ($0.14). During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.22) earnings per share. Viking Therapeutics's quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth $46,846,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,476,314 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $39,122,000 after acquiring an additional 58,191 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 27.0% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 822,278 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $21,790,000 after acquiring an additional 174,887 shares in the last quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 52.8% during the 2nd quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 638,204 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $16,912,000 after acquiring an additional 220,396 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 59.2% during the 1st quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 597,515 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $14,430,000 after acquiring an additional 222,293 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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