Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Trading Up 0.6% – Still a Buy?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) was up 0.6% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $47.84 and last traded at $47.49. Approximately 746,674 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 4,413,933 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.23.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. B. Riley started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $109.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com raised Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $106.75.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $58.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -44.61 and a beta of 0.88.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.23) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 216,130 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.83, for a total transaction of $15,308,487.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,304,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $163,257,979.41. This trade represents a 8.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 10,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total value of $715,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $660,250. This trade represents a 52.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 371,117 shares of company stock worth $27,140,009 in the last 90 days. 4.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted 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 in the last quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its position in Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% in the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 84.3% during the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 553 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. 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.