Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Price Up 3.4% – Here’s Why

Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) were up 3.4% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $30.88 and last traded at $30.51. Approximately 1,142,230 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 3,931,930 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.50.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on VKTX shares. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Maxim Group lowered their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $102.00 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.29.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 3.3 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -30.48 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $37.97 and a 200 day moving average of $52.85.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) 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. Analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Viking Therapeutics news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $2,317,691.25. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $2,150,709.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 165,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,064,822.25. This represents a 23.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 299,014 shares of company stock valued at $12,782,849 over the last ninety days. 4.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VKTX. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the second quarter worth $190,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 34.1% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,036 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $129,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 7.6% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 16,955 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,074,000 after buying an additional 1,202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 17.8% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 6,059 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $384,000 after buying an additional 915 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.