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

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors acquired 51,718 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 193% compared to the typical volume of 17,647 call options.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ VKTX traded up $1.64 on Friday, hitting $29.22. The company had a trading volume of 8,859,375 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,139,148. The company has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a PE ratio of -5.41 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $29.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 7.27 and a quick ratio of 7.27. Viking Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $23.82 and a 12-month high of $43.10.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.55) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.06) by ($0.49). During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.81) EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics will post -5.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 6,876 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $219,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC lifted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 6.9% during the third quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 6,660 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $217,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 13.6% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,870 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 0.3% in the second quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 142,790 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,570,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 1.3% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 45,075 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,469,000 after purchasing an additional 562 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer set a $120.00 target price on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Barclays raised Viking Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Zacks Research upgraded Viking Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $93.36.

About Viking Therapeutics

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company based in San Diego, California. Founded in 2012, it develops medicines for metabolic and endocrine disorders and does not have commercially marketed products. The company’s pipeline includes VK2735, an investigational drug that targets the GLP-1 and GIP receptors and is being developed for obesity, and VK2809, a thyroid hormone receptor beta agonist being studied for metabolic and liver conditions. Viking is also developing VK0214 for X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy, a rare genetic disorder.