Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Price Up 7.6% - What's Next?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 7.6% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $30.73 and last traded at $31.48. Approximately 1,299,635 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 3,868,904 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.26.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on VKTX shares. Maxim Group reduced their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $96.00 price objective (down previously from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One equities 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $97.29.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 7.7 %

The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $36.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.07. The company has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a PE ratio of -34.07 and a beta of 0.90.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 last year, the firm earned ($0.25) EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 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 $8,314,447.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,366,570 shares of the company's stock, valued at $101,170,867.50. This represents a 7.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 374,134 shares of the company's stock, 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. Insiders have sold 299,014 shares of company stock valued at $12,782,849 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 4.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. Stone House Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 period. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 4,306 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the period. S.A. Mason LLC raised its position in Viking Therapeutics by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,800 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Viking Therapeutics by 75.9% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 716 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.