Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Trading Up 0.5% - Here's What Happened

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 0.5% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $33.24 and last traded at $32.47. 1,496,683 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 63% from the average session volume of 4,019,360 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.29.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. B. Riley restated a "buy" rating and set a $96.00 price objective (down from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $97.29.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 14.3 %

The business's 50 day moving average is $35.92 and its 200 day moving average is $51.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a PE ratio of -29.20 and a beta of 0.90.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Viking Therapeutics news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 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 value of $2,317,691.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 374,134 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,994,228.50. The trade was a 12.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 299,014 shares of company stock valued at $12,782,849. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. United Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $234,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 47,547 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,913,000 after purchasing an additional 2,295 shares in the last quarter. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $170,000. Waverly Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 34.6% in the 4th quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 48,369 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,946,000 after purchasing an additional 12,426 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 93,294 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,754,000 after purchasing an additional 29,475 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Viking Therapeutics

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.