<div id="readability-page-1"><p><span>Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report)</span>'s stock had its &#34;buy&#34; rating restated by investment analysts at BTIG Research in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $125.00 target price on the biotechnology company's stock. BTIG Research's price target suggests a potential upside of 316.67% from the stock's current price.</p><div><p><span></span><span>Get <strong>Viking Therapeutics</strong> alerts:</span></p></div><ul><li>Viking Therapeutics Faces Timeline Risk—But Upside Could Be Huge</li></ul><p>Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an &#34;overweight&#34; rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They issued a &#34;peer perform&#34; rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings  reiterated a &#34;sell (d-)&#34; rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Morgan Stanley  set a $95.00 price target on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday. Finally, HC Wainwright  reaffirmed a &#34;buy&#34; rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued  a Buy rating, three have assigned  a Hold rating and one  has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock  has an average rating of &#34;Moderate Buy&#34; and an average price target of $95.50.</p><p><b>Read Our Latest Research Report on VKTX</b></p><h2>Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance</h2><ul><li>3 Companies at the Forefront of the GLP-1 Pill Wars</li></ul><p>Shares of NASDAQ VKTX opened at $30.00 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.25 and a beta of 0.72. Viking Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $22.96 and a 12-month high of $43.15. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $33.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.02. </p><p>Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.37) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.01) by ($0.36). During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.41) earnings per share.  On average, equities analysts forecast that  Viking Therapeutics will post -4.56 EPS for the current fiscal year. </p><h2>Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics</h2><ul><li>Viking Therapeutics: The High-Stakes Weight Loss Contender</li></ul><p>In other news, insider Neil William Aubuchon bought 4,475 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $33.50 per share, for a total transaction of $149,912.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 4,475 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $149,912.50. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities &amp; Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own  5.30% of the company's stock. </p><h2>Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics</h2><p>A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in  Viking Therapeutics by 41.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,092,840 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $55,000,000 after acquiring an additional 616,526 shares during the period.  Two Sigma Investments LP increased its position in  Viking Therapeutics by 58.7% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,085,487 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $54,807,000 after acquiring an additional 771,704 shares during the period.  Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in  Viking Therapeutics by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,994,509 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $70,183,000 after acquiring an additional 385,903 shares during the period.  BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in  Viking Therapeutics by 536.3% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 992,695 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $34,923,000 after acquiring an additional 836,686 shares during the period.  Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its position in  Viking Therapeutics by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 954,272 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $25,078,000 after acquiring an additional 131,994 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own  76.03% of the company's stock. </p><h2>Viking Therapeutics Company Profile</h2> (Get Free Report)<p>Viking Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders. Headquartered in San Diego, California, the company's pipeline leverages small-molecule approaches to target hormone signaling pathways implicated in conditions such as non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes and muscle wasting disorders.  </p><p>The company's lead programs include VK2809, a thyroid hormone receptor‐beta agonist designed to reduce liver fat and improve lipid profiles in patients with NASH and dyslipidemia, and VK5211, a selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) aimed at enhancing muscle mass and function in individuals with muscle wasting conditions.</p><h2>Featured Stories</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than Viking Therapeutics</li></ul><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/RatingsAndPriceTargetChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5BU0RBUSZTeW1ib2w9VktUWA?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="650" height="330" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/RatingsAndPriceTargetChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5BU0RBUSZTeW1ib2w9VktUWA"/></p><p><em>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.</em></p><h2>Should You Invest $1,000 in Viking Therapeutics Right Now?</h2><p>Before you consider Viking Therapeutics, you'll want to hear this.</p><p>MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Viking Therapeutics wasn't on the list.</p><p>While Viking Therapeutics currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.</p><p>View The Five Stocks Here</p>                  </div>

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<p>BTIG Research has reaffirmed a "buy" rating for Viking Therapeutics (VKTX) with a target price of $125.00, indicating a potential upside of 316.67% from its current price. Other analysts have varied opinions, with Cantor Fitzgerald lowering their target to $100.00 and HC Wainwright maintaining a buy rating at $102.00. The stock opened at $30.00, with a market cap of $3.48 billion. Viking reported a quarterly EPS of ($1.37), missing estimates. Institutional investors hold 76.03% of the stock, reflecting strong interest in the company.</p>

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Viking Therapeutics' (VKTX) "Buy" Rating Reaffirmed at BTIG Research