Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Receives Buy Rating from Truist Financial

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by research analysts at Truist Financial in a note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a $75.00 target price on the biotechnology company’s stock, down from their previous target price of $95.00. Truist Financial’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 168.43% from the company’s current price.

VKTX has been the subject of a number of other reports. Citigroup began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.15.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VKTX opened at $27.94 on Monday. Viking Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $18.92 and a 1 year high of $81.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -27.94 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $26.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.98.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.31) by ($0.10). During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.26) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan bought 1,240 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $24.15 per share, with a total value of $29,946.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,946. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. S.A. Mason LLC lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,800 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 75.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 716 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 4,980 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 28,929 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,164,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the period. Finally, HighMark Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 9.4% during the first quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,660 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.