Morgan Stanley Initiates Coverage on Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) in a report published on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $105.00 target price on the biotechnology company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on VKTX. Maxim Group restated a buy rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. They issued a buy rating and a $110.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, June 17th. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Viking Therapeutics to a sell rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $111.56.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 4.4 %

Shares of VKTX opened at $53.01 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $63.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.85 billion, a P/E ratio of -57.00 and a beta of 1.04. Viking Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $8.28 and a 1-year high of $99.41.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.27) by $0.01. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.25) earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics will post -1.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Viking Therapeutics 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 value of $22,136,890.50. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 348,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,413,639.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Greg Zante sold 66,756 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.69, for a total value of $4,986,005.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 174,854 shares in the company, valued at $13,059,845.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 281,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.66, for a total value of $22,136,890.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 348,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,413,639.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 194.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 765,320 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $8,472,000 after acquiring an additional 505,578 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 4.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 864,589 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $9,571,000 after purchasing an additional 38,695 shares during the period. Teza Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter worth approximately $232,000. Corton Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter worth approximately $133,000. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 53,900 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $597,000 after acquiring an additional 7,947 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

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.