Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Trading Up 7.1% – Still a Buy?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)’s stock price traded up 7.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $29.24 and last traded at $29.53. 877,377 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 4,031,962 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.57.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on VKTX. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $102.00 target price for the company. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target (down from $95.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.15.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -29.40 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a fifty day moving average of $25.97 and a 200-day moving average of $32.58.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.31) by ($0.10). The company’s quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.26) EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan acquired 1,240 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $24.15 per share, with a total value of $29,946.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,946. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Viking Therapeutics by 75.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 716 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 1,621.4% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,205 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,135 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 64.8% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,363 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 536 shares during the period. FIL Ltd lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 116.8% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,203 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 222,100.0% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 2,222 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 2,221 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is owned by 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.