Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Up 0.3% - Time to Buy?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) shares rose 0.3% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $66.95 and last traded at $66.08. Approximately 728,515 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 4,493,482 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.87.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VKTX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James increased their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $80.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $138.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $90.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $109.80.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 4.5 %

The company has a market cap of $7.67 billion, a PE ratio of -71.05 and a beta of 1.00. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $64.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $61.81.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.23) EPS. Analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.98 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 20,786 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 9,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $546,535. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Viking Therapeutics news, CEO Brian Lian sold 1,000 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.90, for a total transaction of $69,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,354,927 shares in the company, valued at $164,609,397.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 20,786 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 9,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $546,535. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 525,473 shares of company stock valued at $37,088,158 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 84.3% during the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 553 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 253 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.

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