Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) PT Raised to $118.00 at Raymond James

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) had its price target raised by analysts at Raymond James from $116.00 to $118.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “strong-buy” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Raymond James’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 78.49% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on VKTX. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Maxim Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, June 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $105.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.78.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 31.1 %

VKTX stock traded up $15.70 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $66.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 15,755,122 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,785,173. The company has a market cap of $7.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -71.82 and a beta of 1.03. Viking Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $8.28 and a 12 month high of $99.41. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $55.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.83.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.06. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.19) EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics will post -1.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CFO Greg Zante sold 66,756 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 174,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,059,845.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Viking Therapeutics news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 281,425 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 348,508 shares in the company, valued at $27,413,639.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 66,756 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 174,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,059,845.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 1,557.6% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 371,604 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $6,916,000 after purchasing an additional 349,186 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 100.4% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 137,583 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,560,000 after buying an additional 68,921 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,381,904 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $100,157,000 after buying an additional 97,552 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at about $1,422,000. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP grew its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 32.4% during the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,274,945 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $23,727,000 after acquiring an additional 311,681 shares in the last quarter. 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.