Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan Purchases 1,240 Shares

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan acquired 1,240 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was bought at an average price of $24.15 per share, with a total value of $29,946.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,946. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 7.4 %

Shares of VKTX opened at $25.68 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $29.77 and its 200 day moving average is $45.78. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $23.27 and a 12-month high of $81.86. The stock has a market cap of $2.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -25.68 and a beta of 0.84.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 in the previous year, the business posted ($0.25) EPS. On average, analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VKTX. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,715,000. Stifel Financial Corp lifted 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 acquiring an additional 62,956 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 109.1% during the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 34,023 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,154,000 after acquiring an additional 17,754 shares during the last quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. grew its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 122.4% in the 4th quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 80,602 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,243,000 after acquiring an additional 44,365 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 103.1% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 42,612 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,715,000 after purchasing an additional 21,627 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VKTX. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and issued a $96.00 target price (down previously from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.18.

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.