Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Price Up 0.9% – Here’s Why

Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) rose 0.9% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $53.20 and last traded at $52.10. Approximately 744,680 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 7,145,199 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.63.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com raised Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Raymond James raised their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. HC Wainwright upped their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $90.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $109.73.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $5.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -56.02 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $64.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.70.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.23) EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CEO Brian Lian sold 216,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.83, for a total value of $15,308,487.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,304,927 shares in the company, valued at $163,257,979.41. The trade was a 8.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Lawson Macartney sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.67, for a total transaction of $137,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 47,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,293,756.55. The trade was a 4.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 371,117 shares of company stock worth $27,140,009. 4.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, 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 purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.