Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Price Up 2.9%

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) shares shot up 2.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $58.31 and last traded at $57.84. 629,950 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 4,702,051 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.20.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VKTX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Viking Therapeutics to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $105.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, June 17th. 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 note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Maxim Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.78.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $6.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -62.58 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $53.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.55.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.06. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.19) EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 20,786 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.53, for a total transaction of $1,195,818.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $546,535. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Viking Therapeutics news, CEO Brian Lian sold 115,859 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.58, for a total transaction of $6,671,161.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,354,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $135,596,696.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 20,786 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.53, for a total value of $1,195,818.58. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $546,535. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 154,671 shares of company stock worth $8,896,805 over the last quarter. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 44.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,785,724 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $638,429,000 after buying an additional 2,403,820 shares during the last quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter worth approximately $294,380,000. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 32.4% during the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,274,945 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $23,727,000 after acquiring an additional 311,681 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 88.3% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,119,885 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $20,841,000 after acquiring an additional 525,296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perpetual Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at $78,586,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company's stock.

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.