Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday,Zacks reports.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $87.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. UBS Group started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Viking Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Sunday, October 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.44.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 4.4%

Shares of VKTX opened at $25.47 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $32.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.13. Viking Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $25.28 and a twelve month high of $43.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a PE ratio of -5.47 and a beta of 0.66.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.21) by $0.11. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.58) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics will post -4.46 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CFO Greg Zante sold 21,217 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.47, for a total value of $710,132.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 212,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,102,467.88. This trade represents a 9.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 18,217 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.47, for a total transaction of $609,722.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 422,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,149,777.20. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 187,951 shares of company stock worth $6,268,442. 5.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Ballast Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at about $50,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the second quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the second quarter worth about $56,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Viking Therapeutics

Here are the key news stories impacting Viking Therapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays upgraded Viking to “strong buy,” adding to bullish analyst sentiment around the company’s obesity-drug pipeline. Analyst upgrades can support the shares by reinforcing expectations for future appreciation. Wall Street Bulls Look Optimistic About Viking Therapeutics
• Positive Sentiment: Viking initiated the SUNRISE Phase 3 program for oral VK2735, a dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist being developed for obesity. The program includes SUNRISE-1 in adults with obesity and SUNRISE-2 in adults with obesity and type 2 diabetes, moving the candidate closer to potential commercialization. Viking Announces Initiation of VK2735 Oral Phase 3 Program
• Positive Sentiment: VK2735 previously produced weight reductions of up to 12.2% after 13 weeks in Phase 2, supporting optimism about its competitive potential in the rapidly expanding obesity-treatment market. Viking’s Key Obesity Pill Enters Phase 3 Trial
• Neutral Sentiment: The Phase 3 launch is an important milestone but also increases development costs and clinical execution risk. Investors will be watching enrollment, safety, efficacy, and timelines before assigning greater value to VK2735.
• Negative Sentiment: Shares have recently declined and are trading well below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages, indicating continued skepticism or profit-taking despite the pipeline progress. The stock remains loss-making, with analysts expecting a full-year loss, which can amplify volatility for this clinical-stage biotechnology company. Viking Therapeutics Stock Dropped

Viking Therapeutics Company Profile

Viking Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders. The company’s research programs are aimed at conditions including obesity, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), and other diseases involving the liver and metabolism.

Viking’s leading program is VK2735, an investigational dual agonist of the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) receptors.