Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Price Up 7.6% – Should You Buy?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) rose 7.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $30.73 and last traded at $31.48. Approximately 1,299,635 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 3,868,904 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.26.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and issued a $96.00 price objective (down previously from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.29.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 7.7 %

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.20. The stock has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a PE ratio of -34.07 and a beta of 0.90.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.25) earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Viking Therapeutics news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $2,317,691.25. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 374,134 shares in the company, valued at $15,994,228.50. This represents a 12.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $2,150,709.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 165,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,064,822.25. This trade represents a 23.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 299,014 shares of company stock worth $12,782,849. 4.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 47,547 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,913,000 after purchasing an additional 2,295 shares in the last quarter. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $170,000. Waverly Advisors LLC grew its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 34.6% in the 4th quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 48,369 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,946,000 after buying an additional 12,426 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 93,294 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,754,000 after buying an additional 29,475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tang Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 166.7% during the 4th quarter. Tang Capital Management LLC now owns 320,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $12,877,000 after buying an additional 200,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.