Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at B. Riley

B. Riley assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) in a report issued on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $109.00 price objective on the biotechnology company’s stock. B. Riley also issued estimates for Viking Therapeutics’ Q4 2024 earnings at ($0.24) EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at ($0.29) EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at ($0.30) EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at ($0.32) EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at ($0.32) EPS, FY2025 earnings at ($1.23) EPS, FY2026 earnings at ($1.74) EPS, FY2027 earnings at ($2.53) EPS and FY2028 earnings at ($1.83) EPS.

Several other research analysts have also commented on VKTX. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, HC Wainwright increased their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $90.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $109.73.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 1.9 %

NASDAQ:VKTX opened at $52.59 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.86 billion, a PE ratio of -56.55 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s 50 day moving average is $63.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.25. Viking Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $11.55 and a 52 week high of $99.41.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.23) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics will post -0.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, Director Lawson Macartney sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.67, for a total transaction of $137,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 47,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,293,756.55. This trade represents a 4.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 11,000 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total value of $889,790.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $768,455. The trade was a 53.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 371,117 shares of company stock valued at $27,140,009. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Stone House Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.