Viking Therapeutics price target raised to $50 from $35 at Maxim

Maxim raised the firm’s price target on Viking Therapeutics (VKTX) to $50 from $35 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares post the Q4 report. The company’s cash balance should be sufficient to fund all of the clinical programs through the next key readouts and well into 2025, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says that while Viking and many other companies are developing injectable GLP1s, very few companies have successfully developed a safe daily oral formulation of GLP1s for weight loss. Positive data may significantly benefit Viking’s valuation and potential attractiveness to strategic buyers, contends Maxim. The firm expects volatility in the stock going into the FDA action date for Madrigal Pharmaceuticals’ (MDGL) resmetirom, which is March 14.