Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) traded up 0.6% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $76.44 and last traded at $74.74. 1,302,271 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 5,546,540 shares. The stock had previously closed at $74.31.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VKTX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. BTIG Research raised their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Maxim Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, March 15th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.25.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 5.5 %

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $69.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.01.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.27) by $0.01. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.25) EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total value of $701,250.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total transaction of $701,250.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 269,079 shares of the business’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 $58,707,779.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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 bought and sold shares of VKTX. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 370.7% during the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 353 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at $61,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.