Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Price Up 1.5% – What’s Next?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) rose 1.5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $29.55 and last traded at $29.40. Approximately 699,430 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 3,958,267 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.95.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VKTX has been the subject of several 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 report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.67.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a PE ratio of -27.98 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $30.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.14.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $2,317,691.25. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 374,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,994,228.50. The trade was a 12.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 165,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,064,822.25. This represents a 23.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 299,014 shares of company stock valued at $12,782,849 over the last 90 days. 4.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,464,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 446.7% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,357,241 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $54,615,000 after purchasing an additional 1,108,972 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 228.5% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,479,596 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $59,540,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029,125 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $24,888,000. Finally, Man Group plc increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 3,373.4% during the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 448,732 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $18,057,000 after buying an additional 435,813 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is 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.