Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Price Up 8.1% – Should You Buy?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)’s share price traded up 8.1% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $56.20 and last traded at $56.18. 2,460,528 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 46% from the average session volume of 4,517,678 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.99.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on VKTX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 target price on the stock. B. Riley initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $109.00 price target on the stock. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.73.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 1.7 %

The company’s fifty day moving average is $63.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.05. The stock has a market cap of $5.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -58.68 and a beta of 1.00.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.23) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total value of $889,790.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,500 shares in the company, valued at $768,455. This represents a 53.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 216,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.83, for a total value of $15,308,487.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,304,927 shares in the company, valued at $163,257,979.41. This trade represents a 8.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 371,117 shares of company stock valued at $27,140,009. 4.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VKTX. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at $327,000. Shell Asset Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth about $262,000. BOKF NA acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter worth approximately $985,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 11.2% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 61,417 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,037,000 after purchasing an additional 6,181 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the first quarter worth approximately $802,000. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viking Therapeutics Company Profile

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.