Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) traded up 7.8% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $30.55 and last traded at $30.11. 2,065,214 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 55% from the average session volume of 4,546,426 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.94.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $96.00 target price (down previously from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Maxim Group cut their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price 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, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $96.31.
Read Our Latest Analysis on VKTX
Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 1.5 %
The business has a 50-day moving average price of $33.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.86. The firm has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a PE ratio of -29.10 and a beta of 0.90.
Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.25) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, 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 in the company, valued at approximately $15,994,228.50. The trade was a 12.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 165,259 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,064,822.25. The trade was a 23.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 299,014 shares of company stock worth $12,782,849. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company's stock.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VKTX. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 75.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 716 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% in the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. FIL Ltd boosted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 116.8% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,203 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 170.2% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company's stock.
About Viking Therapeutics
(
Get Free Report)
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.
See Also
Before you consider Viking Therapeutics, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Viking Therapeutics wasn't on the list.
While Viking Therapeutics currently has a Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Enter your email address and we'll send you MarketBeat's list of seven best retirement stocks and why they should be in your portfolio.
Get This Free Report
Like this article? Share it with a colleague.
Link copied to clipboard.
