Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Trading 0.9% Higher

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) shares shot up 0.9% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $63.22 and last traded at $62.85. 553,167 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 4,488,466 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.32.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James increased 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. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $108.60.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $6.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -66.27 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $60.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.84.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.06. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.19) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CEO Brian Lian sold 115,859 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 2,354,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $135,596,696.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Viking Therapeutics news, CEO Brian Lian sold 115,859 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,354,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $135,596,696.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 18,026 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.13, for a total value of $1,029,825.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 362,149 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,689,572.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 516,671 shares of company stock worth $33,810,813 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 370.7% during the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 353 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Viking Therapeutics by 140.8% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 802 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 469 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.