Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Price Up 1.8%

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) rose 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 mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 5,629,811 shares. The stock had previously closed at $64.93.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VKTX. BTIG Research increased their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, March 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.25.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 0.2 %

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.33. The company has a market cap of $7.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -71.88 and a beta of 1.05.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.25) EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.25). During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.26) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CEO Brian Lian sold 269,079 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,184,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,707,779.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total value of $701,250.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 269,079 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,184,882 shares in the company, valued at $58,707,779.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 329,079 shares of company stock worth $8,769,653 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $61,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 125.6% during the 1st 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. Finally, Nemes Rush Group LLC acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $93,000. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.