Maxim Group Cuts Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Price Target to $70.00

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) had its target price cut by Maxim Group from $120.00 to $70.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on VKTX. Citigroup began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.92.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ:VKTX opened at $32.56 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $40.05 and its 200-day moving average is $53.88. Viking Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $25.34 and a 12 month high of $99.41.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.25) EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics will post -1.41 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $2,317,691.25. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 374,134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,994,228.50. This represents a 12.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $8,314,447.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,366,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,170,867.50. This represents a 7.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 299,014 shares of company stock valued at $12,782,849. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC grew its holdings 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, YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.