Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Up 3.4% - Should You Buy?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 3.4% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $30.88 and last traded at $30.51. 1,142,230 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 3,931,930 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.50.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Maxim Group cut their price objective 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. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics 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 stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $97.29.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a PE ratio of -30.48 and a beta of 0.90. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $37.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.82.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.25) EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 271,163 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $10,912,000 after purchasing an additional 17,410 shares during the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $477,000. Man Group plc boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 3,373.4% during the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 448,732 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $18,057,000 after purchasing an additional 435,813 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 319,868 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $12,871,000 after purchasing an additional 1,868 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $429,000. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.