Analysts Set Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Target Price at $106.75

Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) have been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $106.75.

VKTX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 price objective for the company. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $138.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Greg Zante sold 131,687 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.61, for a total transaction of $10,088,541.07. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 149,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,442,929.26. This trade represents a 46.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total value of $889,790.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $768,455. This trade represents a 53.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 144,687 shares of company stock worth $11,115,671. 4.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% during the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 84.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 553 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ VKTX opened at $41.49 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -44.61 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $58.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.95. Viking Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $17.23 and a 1-year high of $99.41.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.23) earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics will post -0.97 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.