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

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) rose 1.7% during mid-day trading 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

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VKTX. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $96.00 price target (down previously from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $97.29.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.07 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s 50-day moving average is $36.28 and its 200-day moving average is $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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.25) EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 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 transaction of $2,150,709.75. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the business’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 $2,317,691.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 374,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,994,228.50. This trade represents a 12.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 299,014 shares of company stock valued at $12,782,849. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

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