Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Price Up 7.8% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) were up 7.8% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $30.55 and last traded at $30.11. Approximately 2,065,214 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 55% from the average daily volume of 4,546,426 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.94.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VKTX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $102.00 target price for the company. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $96.00 price target (down from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Maxim Group decreased their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.29.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $34.20 and a 200 day moving average of $50.65. The firm has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -29.51 and a beta of 0.90.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.25) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the 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 $2,317,691.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 374,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,994,228.50. This represents a 12.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $2,150,709.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 165,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,064,822.25. This represents a 23.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 299,014 shares of company stock worth $12,782,849. Insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. United Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $234,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 47,547 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,913,000 after purchasing an additional 2,295 shares during the last quarter. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $170,000. Waverly Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 34.6% during the 4th quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 48,369 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,946,000 after buying an additional 12,426 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 46.2% during the 4th quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 93,294 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,754,000 after buying an additional 29,475 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.