Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Viking Therapeutics Call Options (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Investors bought 33,310 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 73% compared to the average volume of 19,200 call options.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of Viking Therapeutics stock opened at $70.47 on Friday. Viking Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $8.28 and a fifty-two week high of $99.41. The company has a market capitalization of $7.81 billion, a P/E ratio of -75.77 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a fifty day moving average of $59.08 and a 200 day moving average of $63.21.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.06. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.19) earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics will post -1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CEO Brian Lian sold 1,000 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.90, for a total value of $69,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,354,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $164,609,397.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Viking Therapeutics news, CEO Brian Lian sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.90, for a total transaction of $69,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,354,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $164,609,397.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 18,026 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 362,149 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,689,572.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 516,671 shares of company stock valued at $33,810,813. 4.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in Viking Therapeutics by 370.7% in the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 353 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the first quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 140.8% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 802 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price target for the company. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Maxim Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $108.60.

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.