Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Trading 0.4% Higher – Still a Buy?

Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) were up 0.4% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $29.29 and last traded at $28.79. Approximately 899,859 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 4,484,877 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.67.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VKTX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Maxim Group reduced their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $96.00 target price (down from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.29.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 0.7 %

The stock has a market cap of $3.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.87 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.12.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.25) EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $8,314,447.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,366,570 shares in the company, valued at $101,170,867.50. This represents a 7.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $2,150,709.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 165,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,064,822.25. This trade represents a 23.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 299,014 shares of company stock valued at $12,782,849 in the last three months. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Oak Ridge Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at $837,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 43.5% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 102,324 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,478,000 after purchasing an additional 31,011 shares in the last quarter. Nvwm LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $999,000. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 88.0% in the 3rd quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 36,666 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,322,000 after buying an additional 17,159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 92.1% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 131,348 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $8,316,000 after buying an additional 62,956 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.