Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Viking Therapeutics Call Options (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock traders bought 31,516 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 87% compared to the average daily volume of 16,878 call options.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $2,317,691.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 374,134 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,994,228.50. This represents a 12.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan acquired 1,240 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $24.15 per share, for a total transaction of $29,946.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 1,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,946. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 299,014 shares of company stock worth $12,782,849. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $604,000. Lighthouse Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $563,000. United Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth about $234,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 47,547 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,913,000 after buying an additional 2,295 shares during the period. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $170,000. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VKTX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James increased their target price 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 began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. B. Riley restated a "buy" rating and set a $96.00 target price (down previously from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Maxim Group cut their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $95.18.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 7.4 %

Shares of VKTX traded up $1.77 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $25.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,401,250 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,900,756. The company has a market cap of $2.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.68 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a fifty day moving average of $29.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.78. Viking Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $23.27 and a twelve month high of $81.86.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 in the previous year, the business earned ($0.25) EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.