Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $30.11, but opened at $37.00. Viking Therapeutics shares last traded at $40.8330, with a volume of 15,775,665 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $83.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Lake Street Capital initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $89.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.62.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.26 billion, a PE ratio of -7.97 and a beta of 0.69. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $33.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.41.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.10) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.21) by $0.11. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.58) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Brian Lian sold 148,517 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.32, for a total value of $4,948,586.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,572,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $85,713,734.12. This trade represents a 5.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 18,217 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.47, for a total transaction of $609,722.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 422,760 shares in the company, valued at $14,149,777.20. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders have sold 187,951 shares of company stock worth $6,268,442. 5.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Ballast Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the second quarter worth about $53,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth about $56,000. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at about $50,000. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Viking Therapeutics

Viking Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders. The company’s research programs target conditions including obesity, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), dyslipidemia and other disorders involving hormone regulation and metabolism.

Viking’s lead program is VK2735, an investigational dual agonist of the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) receptors being developed in injectable and oral formulations for obesity and related metabolic conditions.