Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday . 852,597 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 61% from the previous session’s volume of 2,192,137 shares.The stock last traded at $35.92 and had previously closed at $38.88.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VKTX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $138.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. B. Riley began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $109.00 price objective on the stock. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.75.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $48.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.85 billion, a PE ratio of -37.11 and a beta of 0.95.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.23) earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 11,000 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total value of $889,790.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $768,455. The trade was a 53.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Lawson Macartney sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.67, for a total transaction of $137,340.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 47,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,293,756.55. The trade was a 4.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 443,701 shares of company stock valued at $23,898,520 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Blue Trust Inc. bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Stone House Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 84.3% in 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.