Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Up 1.3%

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)’s share price shot up 1.3% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $64.20 and last traded at $63.75. 395,069 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 4,523,699 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.94.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VKTX. Maxim Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $108.60.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $7.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -73.29 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.50.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released 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 quarter last year, the business posted ($0.19) EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CEO Brian Lian sold 115,859 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.58, for a total transaction of $6,671,161.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,354,927 shares in the company, valued at $135,596,696.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 5,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.72, for a total transaction of $397,404.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $662,340. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 115,859 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.58, for a total transaction of $6,671,161.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,354,927 shares in the company, valued at $135,596,696.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 290,241 shares of company stock worth $17,786,475 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the second quarter worth $27,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 370.7% in the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 353 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. LifeSteps Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 140.8% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 802 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

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.