Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Price Up 2% – Should You Buy?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)’s share price traded up 2% on Monday . The company traded as high as $48.28 and last traded at $47.95. 587,577 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 4,421,835 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.03.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on VKTX shares. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $138.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. B. Riley began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $109.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 price target for the company. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.75.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 0.4 %

The stock has a market cap of $5.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -51.56 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.41.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.23) EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.97 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Brian Lian sold 216,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.83, for a total value of $15,308,487.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,304,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $163,257,979.41. This represents a 8.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total transaction of $889,790.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,500 shares in the company, valued at $768,455. This represents a 53.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 371,117 shares of company stock valued at $27,140,009. 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 added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. 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.