Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Up 0.6% - Should You Buy?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) shares were up 0.6% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $47.84 and last traded at $47.49. Approximately 746,674 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 4,413,933 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.23.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. B. Riley began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $109.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $74.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $80.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, September 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $106.75.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $58.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a PE ratio of -50.22 and a beta of 0.88.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.23) EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CEO Brian Lian sold 216,130 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.83, for a total value of $15,308,487.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,304,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at $163,257,979.41. This trade represents a 8.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lawson Macartney sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.67, for a total value of $137,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 47,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,293,756.55. This trade represents a 4.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 371,117 shares of company stock valued at $27,140,009 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oak Ridge Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at $837,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 43.5% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 102,324 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $6,478,000 after acquiring an additional 31,011 shares in the last quarter. Nvwm LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $999,000. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 88.0% in the third quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 36,666 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,322,000 after purchasing an additional 17,159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 92.1% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 131,348 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $8,316,000 after purchasing an additional 62,956 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company's stock.

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.