Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $41.49, but opened at $44.18. Viking Therapeutics shares last traded at $42.61, with a volume of 2,035,766 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on VKTX. StockNews.com upgraded Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $138.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday. B. Riley began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $109.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.75.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 3.2 %

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.95. The company has a market capitalization of $4.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -46.03 and a beta of 0.88.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.23) earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director Lawson Macartney sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.67, for a total value of $137,340.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 47,965 shares in the company, valued at $3,293,756.55. This trade represents a 4.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 131,687 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.61, for a total value of $10,088,541.07. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 149,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,442,929.26. This represents a 46.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 144,687 shares of company stock valued at $11,115,671. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VKTX. Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% in 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 last quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% in the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 84.3% during 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

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.