Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Up 4.6%

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) shares rose 4.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $66.93 and last traded at $66.80. Approximately 650,613 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 5,672,276 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.85.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VKTX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. BTIG Research lifted their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Raymond James lifted their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $37.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $112.25.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $7.34 billion, a PE ratio of -72.61 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $66.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.96.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.25) EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.25). During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.26) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CEO Brian Lian sold 269,079 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.87, for a total value of $7,230,152.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,184,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,707,779.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total transaction of $701,250.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 269,079 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.87, for a total value of $7,230,152.73. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,184,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,707,779.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 329,079 shares of company stock worth $8,769,653. 4.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. PFG Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at $355,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at $93,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at $607,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

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.