Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Has Average Price Target of $98.90

Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation, eight have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $98.10.

Several brokerages have recently commented on VKTX. UBS Group began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 target price for the company. Barclays raised Viking Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $87.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered Viking Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Sunday, October 4th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $114.00 to $106.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 20th.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 148,517 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.32, for a total value of $4,948,586.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,572,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $85,713,734.12. This trade represents a 5.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 21,217 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.47, for a total transaction of $710,132.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 212,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,102,467.88. The trade was a 9.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 187,951 shares of company stock valued at $6,268,442 over the last ninety days. 5.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VKTX. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Ballast Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth about $56,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 0.8%

NASDAQ:VKTX opened at $24.21 on Tuesday. Viking Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $24.00 and a 12 month high of $43.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.20 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.54.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.10) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.21) by $0.11. Viking Therapeutics’s quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.58) EPS. Equities analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics will post -4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Viking Therapeutics Company Profile

Viking Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in San Diego, California. Founded in 2012, the company develops therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders, with a focus on conditions involving obesity, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and other liver and lipid disorders.

Viking’s lead program is VK2735, an investigational dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist being developed in injectable and oral formulations for obesity and related metabolic conditions.