Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) shares rose 4.8% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $45.00 and last traded at $43.48. Approximately 4,098,534 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 8% from the average daily volume of 4,463,451 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.49.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of brokerages have recently commented on VKTX. B. Riley initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $109.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $138.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Viking Therapeutics to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $106.75.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on VKTX
Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance
The business has a fifty day moving average of $58.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -45.43 and a beta of 0.88.
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, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.23) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics
In related news, CFO Greg Zante sold 131,687 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.61, for a total transaction of $10,088,541.07. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 149,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,442,929.26. This trade represents a 46.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Lawson Macartney sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 47,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,293,756.55. This represents a 4.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 144,687 shares of company stock valued at $11,115,671 in the last three months. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VKTX. Oak Ridge Investments LLC bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth $837,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 43.5% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 102,324 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $6,478,000 after purchasing an additional 31,011 shares in the last quarter. Nvwm LLC bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter worth $999,000. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 88.0% during the third quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 36,666 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $2,322,000 after purchasing an additional 17,159 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 92.1% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 131,348 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $8,316,000 after buying an additional 62,956 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
About Viking Therapeutics
(
Get Free Report)
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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