Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Up 0.3% – Still a Buy?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)’s stock price shot up 0.3% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $66.95 and last traded at $66.08. 728,515 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 4,493,482 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.87.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VKTX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $90.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $138.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.80.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $7.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -73.63 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $64.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.89.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.23) EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CEO Brian Lian sold 112,870 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.80, for a total transaction of $7,426,846.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,354,927 shares in the company, valued at $154,954,196.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 20,786 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.53, for a total value of $1,195,818.58. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $546,535. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 112,870 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.80, for a total value of $7,426,846.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,354,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $154,954,196.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 527,473 shares of company stock worth $37,225,498 over the last ninety days. 4.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 84.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 553 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.