Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Trading 1.2% Higher - Here's What Happened

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) shares rose 1.2% on Friday . The company traded as high as $65.86 and last traded at $65.37. Approximately 251,694 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 94% from the average daily volume of 4,312,246 shares. The stock had previously closed at $64.61.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

• Is Viking Therapeutics Ready For Another Surge?

VKTX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $138.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. 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. StockNews.com upgraded Viking Therapeutics to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $108.60.

Get Our Latest Research Report on VKTX

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

• Viking Therapeutics Is Having a Year to Remember: Time to Buy?

The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $62.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.16. The firm has a market cap of $7.19 billion, a PE ratio of -70.29 and a beta of 1.00.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.06. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.19) earnings per share. Analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

• Viking Therapeutics: Pharma Stock Soars on Positive Earnings

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CEO Brian Lian sold 216,130 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $163,257,979.41. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. 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 J Matthew Singleton sold 20,786 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.53, for a total value of $1,195,818.58. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $546,535. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 216,130 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.83, for a total transaction of $15,308,487.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,304,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $163,257,979.41. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 516,671 shares of company stock valued at $33,810,813 in the last ninety days. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 84.3% during the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 553 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 2.9% in the first quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,379 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,015,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 3.1% in the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 12,278 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $651,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the period. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 5.5% in the second quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 7,457 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 386 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.

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