Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Upgraded at StockNews.com (2024)

Posted by Charles Blunt on Jun 30th, 2024

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX – Free Report) to a sell rating in a report released on Thursday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on VKTX. HC Wainwright restated a buy rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday. They issued an overweight rating and a $105.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. They issued a buy rating and a $110.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James reaffirmed a strong-buy rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $111.56.

Get Our Latest Report on Viking Therapeutics

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of Viking Therapeutics stock opened at $53.01 on Thursday. Viking Therapeutics has a one year low of $8.28 and a one year high of $99.41. The company has a market cap of $5.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -57.00 and a beta of 1.04. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $63.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.48.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.25) earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics will post -1.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 281,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.66, for a total transaction of $22,136,890.50. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Greg Zante sold 66,756 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 174,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,059,845.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 281,425 shares of the business’s 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 directly owns 348,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,413,639.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 1,557.6% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 371,604 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,916,000 after acquiring an additional 349,186 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 100.4% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 137,583 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,560,000 after acquiring an additional 68,921 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,284,352 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $58,498,000 after acquiring an additional 171,995 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 32.4% during the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,274,945 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $23,727,000 after acquiring an additional 311,681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $4,872,000. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Viking Therapeutics Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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