Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Up 4.9% - Should You Buy?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 4.9% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $31.10 and last traded at $31.19. Approximately 1,334,854 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 4,008,480 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.73.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. 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 research report on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James upped their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $96.00 price target (down previously from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $97.67.

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Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.64. The stock has a market cap of $3.42 billion, a PE ratio of -30.46 and a beta of 0.90.

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

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of Viking Therapeutics 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 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of the 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 $8,314,447.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,366,570 shares in the company, valued at $101,170,867.50. This represents a 7.59 % 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 quarter. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. increased 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 buying an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. FIL Ltd raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 170.2% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 851 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.