Brokerages Set Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Price Target at $112.38

Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the ten analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $111.56.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on VKTX shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. BTIG Research upped their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price target for the company.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 281,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 approximately $27,413,639.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Viking Therapeutics news, CFO Greg Zante sold 66,756 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.69, for a total transaction of $4,986,005.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 174,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,059,845.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 281,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 348,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,413,639.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VKTX. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in Viking Therapeutics by 370.7% during the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 353 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. LifeSteps Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter worth about $61,000. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

Viking Therapeutics stock opened at $50.77 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $63.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.00. Viking Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $8.28 and a twelve month high of $99.41.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.27) by $0.01. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.25) EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics will post -1.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.