Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Up 8.8% – Still a Buy?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)’s share price shot up 8.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $30.14 and last traded at $28.84. 4,063,606 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 1% from the average session volume of 4,016,169 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.52.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VKTX has been the subject of a number of research reports. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday. Maxim Group cut 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. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Finally, B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $96.00 price objective (down from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.31.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 8.6 %

The company has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.80 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $32.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.33.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.25) EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $8,314,447.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,366,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,170,867.50. The trade was a 7.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $2,150,709.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 165,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,064,822.25. This trade represents a 23.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 299,014 shares of company stock worth $12,782,849. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VKTX. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $51,464,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 446.7% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,357,241 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $54,615,000 after purchasing an additional 1,108,972 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 228.5% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,479,596 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $59,540,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029,125 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $24,888,000. Finally, Man Group plc lifted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 3,373.4% in the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 448,732 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $18,057,000 after buying an additional 435,813 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.