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 report released on Thursday morning.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James restated a strong-buy rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, March 15th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday. They set an overweight rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $111.56.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 7.1 %

Shares of Viking Therapeutics stock opened at $50.77 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $63.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.00. Viking Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $8.28 and a twelve month high of $99.41.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.27) by $0.01. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.25) EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics will post -1.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 281,425 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.66, for a total transaction of $22,136,890.50. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 348,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,413,639.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 281,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.66, for a total transaction of $22,136,890.50. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 348,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,413,639.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 66,756 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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 owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

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