HC Wainwright Reiterates “Buy” Rating for Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by equities researchers at HC Wainwright in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $102.00 target price on the biotechnology company’s stock. HC Wainwright’s price objective points to a potential upside of 262.09% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on VKTX. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (down previously from $95.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, April 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Viking Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.15.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ VKTX opened at $28.17 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -24.50 and a beta of 0.65. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $27.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.61. Viking Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $18.92 and a 12 month high of $81.73.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan acquired 1,240 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $24.15 per share, for a total transaction of $29,946.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,946. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VKTX. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $51,464,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 446.7% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,357,241 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $54,615,000 after acquiring an additional 1,108,972 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 228.5% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,479,596 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $59,540,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029,125 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $24,888,000. Finally, Man Group plc boosted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 3,373.4% in the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 448,732 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $18,057,000 after purchasing an additional 435,813 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

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.