Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Trading 1.8% Higher

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)’s share price was up 1.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $67.78 and last traded at $66.13. Approximately 904,840 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 5,629,811 shares. The stock had previously closed at $64.93.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on VKTX shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $110.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $112.25.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average is $66.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.33. The firm has a market cap of $7.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -71.88 and a beta of 1.05.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.25). During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.26) earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CEO Brian Lian sold 269,079 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.87, for a total value of $7,230,152.73. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,184,882 shares in the company, valued at $58,707,779.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total value of $701,250.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 269,079 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.87, for a total transaction of $7,230,152.73. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,184,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,707,779.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 329,079 shares of company stock valued at $8,769,653. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 125.6% during the first quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,015 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 39,321 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $732,000 after buying an additional 609 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth about $61,000. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,366 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $267,000 after acquiring an additional 917 shares during 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.