Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 23,930,000 shares, a growth of 18.5% from the January 15th total of 20,200,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,060,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.9 days.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Viking Therapeutics stock traded down $0.64 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $29.84. 876,160 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,903,847. Viking Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $28.64 and a 1 year high of $99.41. The firm has a market cap of $3.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -29.94 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $37.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.65.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.25) earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics will post -1.41 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 374,134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,994,228.50. The trade was a 12.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $8,314,447.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,366,570 shares in the company, valued at $101,170,867.50. This trade represents a 7.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 299,014 shares of company stock valued at $12,782,849. 4.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $170,000. Waverly Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 34.6% in the 4th quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 48,369 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,946,000 after purchasing an additional 12,426 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 93,294 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,754,000 after purchasing an additional 29,475 shares in the last quarter. Tang Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 166.7% during the fourth quarter. Tang Capital Management LLC now owns 320,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $12,877,000 after purchasing an additional 200,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tema Etfs LLC acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $813,000. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on VKTX. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Maxim Group lowered their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $97.29.

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.