Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Trading Up 3%

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)’s stock price rose 3% on Monday . The company traded as high as $56.37 and last traded at $55.75. Approximately 723,095 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 4,573,048 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.13.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.78.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 1.1 %

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $57.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.65. The company has a market capitalization of $6.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -59.81 and a beta of 1.00.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.06. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.19) EPS. Analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CEO Brian Lian sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.90, for a total transaction of $69,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,354,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $164,609,397.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Viking Therapeutics news, CEO Brian Lian sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.90, for a total value of $69,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,354,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $164,609,397.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 5,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.72, for a total value of $397,404.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $662,340. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 290,241 shares of company stock valued at $17,786,475. 4.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 39,321 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $732,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 37,500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $698,000 after buying an additional 3,049 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Viking Therapeutics by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 775,699 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $14,436,000 after buying an additional 10,379 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $12,341,000. Finally, Level Four Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 87.5% during the 4th quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 31,374 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $584,000 after acquiring an additional 14,638 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.