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

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VKTX. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Raymond James lifted their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.29.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 8.8 %

The stock has a market cap of $3.83 billion, a P/E ratio of -33.96 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $36.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.20.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.25) earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $2,317,691.25. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $2,150,709.75. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 299,014 shares of company stock worth $12,782,849 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

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

About Viking Therapeutics

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.