Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Coverage Initiated at B. Riley

B. Riley started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $109.00 price target 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.

VKTX has been the topic of a number of other reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $90.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $138.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $109.73.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

VKTX stock opened at $51.99 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.79 billion, a P/E ratio of -55.90 and a beta of 1.00. Viking Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $11.55 and a 52-week high of $99.41. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.05.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company posted ($0.23) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics will post -0.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, CFO Greg Zante sold 131,687 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.61, for a total transaction of $10,088,541.07. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 149,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,442,929.26. This represents a 46.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lawson Macartney sold 2,000 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.67, for a total value of $137,340.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 47,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,293,756.55. The trade was a 4.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 371,117 shares of company stock worth $27,140,009. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 0.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,619,430 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,052,176,000 after buying an additional 79,149 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 44.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,785,724 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $638,429,000 after acquiring an additional 2,403,820 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 55.4% in the 3rd quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 1,269,152 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $80,350,000 after acquiring an additional 452,344 shares in the last quarter. Braidwell LP grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 4.5% during the third quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 1,156,977 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $73,248,000 after purchasing an additional 50,072 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 10,775.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,004,033 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $63,565,000 after purchasing an additional 994,801 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.