Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Up 1.5% - Here's Why

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 1.5% on Monday . The company traded as high as $29.55 and last traded at $29.40. 699,430 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 3,958,267 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.95.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VKTX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. 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 target for the company. Maxim Group decreased their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $96.00 target price (down previously from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $97.67.

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Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

The stock's 50 day moving average is $30.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -27.98 and a beta of 0.90.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.25) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $2,150,709.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 165,259 shares in the company, valued at $7,064,822.25. This represents a 23.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $2,317,691.25. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 374,134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,994,228.50. This represents a 12.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 299,014 shares of company stock worth $12,782,849. Insiders own 4.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,715,438 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $672,629,000 after purchasing an additional 96,008 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,880,713 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $75,704,000 after buying an additional 17,046 shares during the period. Braidwell LP increased its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 27.9% during the fourth quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 1,479,666 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $59,542,000 after acquiring an additional 322,689 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 228.5% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,479,596 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $59,540,000 after acquiring an additional 1,029,125 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 446.7% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,357,241 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $54,615,000 after acquiring an additional 1,108,972 shares in 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.