Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors purchased 53,247 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 168% compared to the average daily volume of 19,834 call options.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 18,026 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.13, for a total transaction of $1,029,825.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 362,149 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,689,572.37. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 18,026 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.13, for a total transaction of $1,029,825.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 362,149 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,689,572.37. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 115,859 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,354,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $135,596,696.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 516,671 shares of company stock valued at $33,810,813 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 84.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 553 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

VKTX opened at $73.22 on Friday. Viking Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $8.28 and a fifty-two week high of $99.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -78.73 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $63.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.74.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.23) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics will post -1 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on VKTX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $138.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $108.60.

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.