Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Price Up 0.9%

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) traded up 0.9% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $63.22 and last traded at $62.85. 553,167 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 4,488,466 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.32.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, June 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $108.60.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 0.5 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $6.91 billion, a P/E ratio of -67.58 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.88.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.06. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.19) EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Brian Lian sold 115,859 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.58, for a total transaction of $6,671,161.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,354,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $135,596,696.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 5,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.72, for a total value of $397,404.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 9,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $662,340. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 115,859 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.58, for a total value of $6,671,161.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,354,927 shares in the company, valued at $135,596,696.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 516,671 shares of company stock valued at $33,810,813 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 370.7% in the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 353 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. LifeSteps Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 140.8% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 802 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.