Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Trading Up 7.2% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) were up 7.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $41.12 and last traded at $41.04. Approximately 2,385,281 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 46% from the average daily volume of 4,445,326 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.28.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on VKTX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price objective on the stock. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, B. Riley assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $109.00 price target for the company. One 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.75.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -44.43 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.06.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.23) EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total transaction of $889,790.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,500 shares in the company, valued at $768,455. The trade was a 53.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 216,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.83, for a total transaction of $15,308,487.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,304,927 shares in the company, valued at $163,257,979.41. This represents a 8.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 371,117 shares of company stock worth $27,140,009 over the last three months. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VKTX. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $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 valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its position 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 buying an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Viking Therapeutics

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.