Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Given New $106.00 Price Target at Canaccord Genuity Group

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) had its target price decreased by equities research analysts at Canaccord Genuity Group from $114.00 to $106.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Canaccord Genuity Group’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 302.70% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Barclays upgraded Viking Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Viking Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Sunday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $87.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.10.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Viking Therapeutics stock traded up $1.27 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $26.32. 1,681,687 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,238,660. Viking Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $24.94 and a 12-month high of $43.15. The company has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.68 and a beta of 0.66. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.01.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.21) by $0.11. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.58) earnings per share. Viking Therapeutics’s quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics will post -4.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CEO Brian Lian sold 148,517 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.32, for a total transaction of $4,948,586.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,572,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $85,713,734.12. This represents a 5.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 18,217 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.47, for a total value of $609,722.99. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 422,760 shares in the company, valued at $14,149,777.20. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 187,951 shares of company stock valued at $6,268,442 in the last quarter. 5.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VKTX. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the second quarter worth about $241,458,000. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth about $22,393,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 18.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 542,516 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $17,653,000 after buying an additional 82,941 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $20,699,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 525,484 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $17,099,000 after buying an additional 11,753 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Viking Therapeutics Company Profile

Viking Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in San Diego, California. Founded in 2012, the company develops therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders, with a focus on conditions involving obesity, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and other liver and lipid disorders.

Viking’s lead program is VK2735, an investigational dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist being developed in injectable and oral formulations for obesity and related metabolic conditions.