Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Up 3.3% - Here's Why

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VKTX. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. 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 report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $97.29.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.80 billion, a PE ratio of -34.07 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.20.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.25) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of the firm'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 $2,150,709.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $2,317,691.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 374,134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,994,228.50. This trade represents a 12.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 299,014 shares of company stock valued at $12,782,849 over the last quarter. 4.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its stake in 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 during the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. FIL Ltd raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 116.8% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,203 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 170.2% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 851 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently 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.