Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Price Up 7.6% – What’s Next?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)’s stock price was up 7.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $30.73 and last traded at $31.48. Approximately 1,299,635 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 3,868,904 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.26.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 6th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $102.00 target price for the company. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.29.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 11.6 %

The company has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a PE ratio of -32.57 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.48.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.25) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $2,317,691.25. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 374,134 shares in the company, valued at $15,994,228.50. This represents a 12.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $8,314,447.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,366,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,170,867.50. This trade represents a 7.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 299,014 shares of company stock valued at $12,782,849 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VKTX. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% in the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. FIL Ltd boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 116.8% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,203 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 170.2% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 851 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.