Viking Therapeutics’ (VKTX) “Overweight” Rating Reaffirmed at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley reaffirmed their overweight rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) in a research note published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $105.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock.

VKTX has been the subject of a number of other reports. HC Wainwright restated a buy rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Maxim Group reissued a buy rating and set a $120.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Raymond James boosted their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a strong-buy rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Truist Financial reissued a buy rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a sell rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $108.60.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of Viking Therapeutics stock opened at $62.81 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $57.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.88. Viking Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $8.28 and a 52-week high of $99.41.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 earned ($0.19) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics will post -0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 20,786 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.53, for a total transaction of $1,195,818.58. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 9,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $546,535. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 115,859 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.58, for a total transaction of $6,671,161.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,354,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $135,596,696.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 20,786 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.53, for a total value of $1,195,818.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,500 shares in the company, valued at $546,535. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 290,241 shares of company stock worth $17,786,475 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VKTX. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 370.7% in the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 353 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth $61,000. 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.