Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Price Up 1.2%

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)’s share price shot up 1.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $62.91 and last traded at $62.72. 275,552 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 94% from the average session volume of 4,448,585 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.00.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VKTX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. 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. Maxim Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $138.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, June 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $108.60.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 4.3 %

The business’s fifty day moving average is $60.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.76. The firm has a market cap of $7.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -67.44 and a beta of 1.00.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.06. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.19) EPS. Research analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CEO Brian Lian sold 115,859 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.58, for a total transaction of $6,671,161.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,354,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $135,596,696.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Viking Therapeutics news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 18,026 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.13, for a total value of $1,029,825.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 362,149 shares in the company, valued at $20,689,572.37. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 115,859 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.58, for a total value of $6,671,161.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,354,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $135,596,696.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 516,671 shares of company stock worth $33,810,813 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VKTX. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 140.8% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 802 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 123.8% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,258 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 696 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by 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.