Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Trading Up 3.3% – What’s Next?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)’s share price traded up 3.3% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $30.88 and last traded at $30.48. 3,279,795 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 23% from the average session volume of 4,270,754 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Maxim Group decreased their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Finally, B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and set a $96.00 price objective (down from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.29.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -30.48 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $37.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.82.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.25) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $2,317,691.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 374,134 shares in the company, valued at $15,994,228.50. The trade was a 12.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 299,014 shares of company stock worth $12,782,849. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oak Ridge Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth about $837,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 43.5% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 102,324 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,478,000 after purchasing an additional 31,011 shares during the period. Nvwm LLC purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter worth approximately $999,000. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 88.0% in the third quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 36,666 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,322,000 after buying an additional 17,159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 92.1% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 131,348 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $8,316,000 after buying an additional 62,956 shares during the period. 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.