Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Sees Strong Trading Volume – What’s Next?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 852,597 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 61% from the previous session’s volume of 2,192,137 shares.The stock last traded at $35.92 and had previously closed at $38.88.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. B. Riley started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $109.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $138.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.75.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 6.6 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $47.65 and a 200-day moving average of $56.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -35.01 and a beta of 0.95.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.23) EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.97 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Lawson Macartney sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now owns 47,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,293,756.55. This trade represents a 4.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a 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 shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $2,150,709.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 165,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,064,822.25. This trade represents a 23.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 443,701 shares of company stock valued at $23,898,520 in the last ninety days. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% during the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 84.3% during the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 553 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

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.