Analysts Set Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Target Price at $112.25

Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) have received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $112.25.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on VKTX. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Maxim Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, March 15th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

Viking Therapeutics stock opened at $79.91 on Thursday. Viking Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $8.28 and a fifty-two week high of $99.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -85.92 and a beta of 1.12. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $73.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.14.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.25) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics will post -1.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VKTX. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 370.7% in the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 353 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the period. LifeSteps Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at about $37,000. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at about $61,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 125.6% during the 1st quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,015 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.