Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Price Up 1.7% - Here's Why

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) traded up 1.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $32.55 and last traded at $32.16. 1,358,137 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 4,040,823 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.63.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James boosted their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $97.29.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $35.92 and a 200-day moving average of $51.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.20 and a beta of 0.90.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last posted 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 quarter last year, the business posted ($0.25) earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Viking Therapeutics news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $2,317,691.25. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 374,134 shares in the company, valued at $15,994,228.50. The trade was a 12.66 % 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, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $8,314,447.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,366,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,170,867.50. The trade was a 7.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 299,014 shares of company stock worth $12,782,849 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VKTX. Blue Trust Inc. bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. FIL Ltd grew its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 116.8% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,203 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 170.2% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 851 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.