Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Trading Up 5.2% – Still a Buy?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)’s share price rose 5.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $29.53 and last traded at $29.28. Approximately 1,493,306 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 4,511,725 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.82.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on VKTX shares. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a 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 assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. Raymond James increased their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $96.00 price target (down from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.29.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.67 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $35.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.52.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.25) earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $8,314,447.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,366,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,170,867.50. This represents a 7.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 374,134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,994,228.50. The trade was a 12.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 299,014 shares of company stock valued at $12,782,849 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $51,464,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 446.7% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,357,241 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $54,615,000 after buying an additional 1,108,972 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 228.5% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,479,596 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $59,540,000 after acquiring an additional 1,029,125 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $24,888,000. Finally, Man Group plc increased its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 3,373.4% during the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 448,732 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $18,057,000 after purchasing an additional 435,813 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.