Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Raised to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $99.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 24th. B. Riley Financial raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald set a $105.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.80.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ VKTX opened at $31.10 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.78 and a beta of 0.75. Viking Therapeutics has a one year low of $18.92 and a one year high of $43.15. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $32.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.50.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.38) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.89) by ($0.49). During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.32) EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, Director Matthew W. Foehr sold 16,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.11, for a total value of $561,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 132,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,635,783.96. The trade was a 10.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 233,409 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.96, for a total value of $7,693,160.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,499,291 shares in the company, valued at $82,376,631.36. The trade was a 8.54% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 364,731 shares of company stock valued at $12,053,627 over the last ninety days. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 41.8% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,092,840 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $55,000,000 after purchasing an additional 616,526 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 58.7% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,085,487 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $54,807,000 after buying an additional 771,704 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,994,509 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $70,183,000 after buying an additional 385,903 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $46,846,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Viking Therapeutics by 536.3% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 992,695 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $34,923,000 after acquiring an additional 836,686 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

About Viking Therapeutics

Viking Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders. Headquartered in San Diego, California, the company’s pipeline leverages small-molecule approaches to target hormone signaling pathways implicated in conditions such as non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes and muscle wasting disorders.

The company’s lead programs include VK2809, a thyroid hormone receptor‐beta agonist designed to reduce liver fat and improve lipid profiles in patients with NASH and dyslipidemia, and VK5211, a selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) aimed at enhancing muscle mass and function in individuals with muscle wasting conditions.