Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) to a sell rating in a research note released on Thursday.

VKTX has been the subject of several other reports. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $37.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Maxim Group reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, March 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $112.25.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 7.9 %

NASDAQ VKTX opened at $74.31 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -79.90 and a beta of 1.05. Viking Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $8.28 and a 52-week high of $99.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $69.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.56.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by $0.01. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.25) EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics will post -1.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Brian Lian sold 269,079 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.87, for a total transaction of $7,230,152.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,184,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,707,779.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Brian Lian sold 269,079 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.87, for a total transaction of $7,230,152.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,184,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,707,779.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total transaction of $701,250.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 329,079 shares of company stock valued at $8,769,653 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 370.7% in the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 353 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. LifeSteps Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at $61,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 125.6% in the 1st quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,015 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.