Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Trading Up 3.3% - What's Next?

Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) were up 3.3% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $30.88 and last traded at $30.48. Approximately 3,279,795 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 23% from the average daily volume of 4,270,754 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.50.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on VKTX shares. Maxim Group reduced their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and set a $96.00 price target (down from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $97.29.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 2.0 %

The company has a market cap of $3.52 billion, a PE ratio of -31.63 and a beta of 0.90. The firm's fifty day moving average is $36.54 and its 200 day moving average is $52.20.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.25) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of the business'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 $2,150,709.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 165,259 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,064,822.25. The trade was a 23.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of the business'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 $8,314,447.50. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 299,014 shares of company stock valued at $12,782,849 in the last 90 days. 4.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $56,000. Finally, FIL Ltd lifted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 116.8% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,203 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 648 shares during 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.