Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Price Up 2% – What’s Next?

Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) were up 2% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $54.73 and last traded at $54.51. Approximately 2,571,782 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 43% from the average daily volume of 4,522,554 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.42.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $138.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued 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 issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $109.73.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $5.90 billion, a P/E ratio of -56.92 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.83.

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

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, Director Lawson Macartney sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.67, for a total value of $137,340.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 47,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,293,756.55. The trade was a 4.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 10,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total value of $715,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 9,500 shares in the company, valued at $660,250. This trade represents a 52.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 371,117 shares of company stock valued at $27,140,009 over the last quarter. 4.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter worth $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% in the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.