Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Trading Up 4.8% – Time to Buy?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) traded up 4.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $45.00 and last traded at $43.48. 4,098,534 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 8% from the average session volume of 4,463,451 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.49.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on VKTX shares. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. B. Riley began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $109.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.75.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 1.8 %

The company has a market capitalization of $4.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -45.43 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $57.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.81.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, beating 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. On average, analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director Lawson Macartney sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.67, for a total value of $137,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 47,965 shares in the company, valued at $3,293,756.55. This represents a 4.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 131,687 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.61, for a total value of $10,088,541.07. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 149,366 shares in the company, valued at $11,442,929.26. This trade represents a 46.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 144,687 shares of company stock valued at $11,115,671. 4.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its position in Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 84.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 553 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.