Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $60.39, but opened at $65.75. Viking Therapeutics shares last traded at $66.00, with a volume of 1,311,700 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on VKTX shares. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com raised Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. 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. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $138.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $108.60.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 22.0 %

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.66. The company has a market cap of $8.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -70.01 and a beta of 1.00.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.06. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.19) EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 20,786 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.53, for a total transaction of $1,195,818.58. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $546,535. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 20,786 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.53, for a total value of $1,195,818.58. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $546,535. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 216,130 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.83, for a total value of $15,308,487.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,304,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $163,257,979.41. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 516,671 shares of company stock worth $33,810,813. Insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 84.3% in the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 553 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in 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.