Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Price Up 1.6% on Strong Earnings

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) shares rose 1.6% on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $69.17 and last traded at $66.14. Approximately 1,593,187 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 5,598,100 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.07.

The biotechnology company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by $0.01. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.25) EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on VKTX. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. Raymond James increased their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $37.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, March 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Brian Lian sold 269,079 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.87, for a total value of $7,230,152.73. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,184,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,707,779.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Brian Lian sold 269,079 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.87, for a total value of $7,230,152.73. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,184,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,707,779.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total value of $701,250.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 329,079 shares of company stock worth $8,769,653 over the last ninety days. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 924.4% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 82,099 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $909,000 after purchasing an additional 74,085 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 33.1% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 16,639 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $184,000 after acquiring an additional 4,136 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 15.8% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 137,569 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,566,000 after acquiring an additional 18,811 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 43.4% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 27,647 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 8,372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 270.1% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,048 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 8,063 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 4.1 %

The stock has a market cap of $7.47 billion, a PE ratio of -73.18 and a beta of 1.05. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.33.

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.