Canaccord Genuity Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) had its price objective lifted by analysts at Canaccord Genuity Group from $106.00 to $107.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Canaccord Genuity Group’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 174.36% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. B. Riley raised Viking Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, September 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.14.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VKTX opened at $39.00 on Wednesday. Viking Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $18.92 and a 52 week high of $56.25. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.09. The firm has a market cap of $4.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.40 and a beta of 0.64.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.81) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.67) by ($0.14). During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.22) EPS. The company’s revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 6,185 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $216,475.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 382,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,386,345. The trade was a 1.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles A. Rowland, Jr. sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.57, for a total transaction of $2,134,200.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 30,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,067,100. This represents a 66.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 111,359 shares of company stock worth $3,932,155. Insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 58.4% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 1,621.4% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,205 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,135 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.