Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Sees Strong Trading Volume - What's Next?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 852,597 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 61% from the previous session's volume of 2,192,137 shares.The stock last traded at $35.92 and had previously closed at $38.88.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. B. Riley started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $109.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $74.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised Viking Therapeutics to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $138.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $106.75.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 6.6 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $47.65 and a 200-day moving average of $56.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -35.01 and a beta of 0.95.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.23) EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.97 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Lawson Macartney sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.67, for a total transaction of $137,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 47,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,293,756.55. This trade represents a 4.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $2,150,709.75. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 443,701 shares of company stock valued at $23,898,520 in the last ninety days. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% during the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 84.3% during the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 553 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.