Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Trading Up 1.7% – Here’s What Happened

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)’s stock price traded up 1.7% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $32.55 and last traded at $32.16. 1,358,137 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 4,040,823 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.63.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on VKTX shares. B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and set a $96.00 target price (down previously from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Maxim Group lowered their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.29.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 7.7 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -34.07 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $36.28 and a 200-day moving average of $52.07.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.25) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $2,150,709.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 165,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,064,822.25. The trade was a 23.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $8,314,447.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,366,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,170,867.50. This represents a 7.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 299,014 shares of company stock worth $12,782,849. Insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Oak Ridge Investments LLC acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter worth approximately $837,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 43.5% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 102,324 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $6,478,000 after acquiring an additional 31,011 shares during the period. Nvwm LLC acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at $999,000. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 88.0% during the 3rd quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 36,666 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,322,000 after purchasing an additional 17,159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 92.1% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 131,348 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $8,316,000 after purchasing an additional 62,956 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Viking Therapeutics Company Profile

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.