Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Receives New Coverage from Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus

Equities researchers at Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX – Get Rating) in a research report issued on Thursday, The Fly reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $22.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 85.97% from the stock’s previous close.

VKTX has been the subject of several other research reports. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $17.00 to $20.00 in a report on Thursday, February 23rd. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 9th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 9th. Finally, Maxim Group lifted their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $10.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $17.50.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 8.1 %

NASDAQ VKTX opened at $11.83 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.28. Viking Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $2.02 and a 12-month high of $11.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $927.71 million, a P/E ratio of -12.59 and a beta of 0.77.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by ($0.03). As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics will post -0.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Boxer Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at $14,100,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,638,000. Laurion Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,826,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $10,393,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 298.3% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 967,349 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,902,000 after purchasing an additional 724,476 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 34.71% of the company’s stock.

About Viking Therapeutics

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Viking Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, which engages in the development of therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders. The company was founded by Brian Lian and Michael A. Dinerman on September 24, 2012 and is headquartered in San Diego, CA.