Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s Why

Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) saw strong trading volume on Wednesday . 2,497,195 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 8% from the previous session’s volume of 2,712,786 shares.The stock last traded at $38.1330 and had previously closed at $40.85.

Viking Therapeutics News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Viking Therapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Viking reported positive topline results from the VK2735-102 maintenance study. Patients receiving 17.5 mg weekly achieved approximately 22% placebo-adjusted weight loss at week 33, with no apparent weight-loss plateau. Viking Therapeutics’ obesity drug shows 22% weight loss in study
• Positive Sentiment: The study also suggested VK2735 could preserve most of the initial weight loss with less-frequent dosing: up to 97% was maintained after switching to every-other-week dosing and up to 90% after monthly dosing. This could improve convenience and treatment adherence. Viking Therapeutics announces VK2735 maintenance results
• Positive Sentiment: Viking said maintenance dosing was well tolerated, with gastrointestinal adverse-event rates similar to placebo. The results strengthen the potential commercial positioning of VK2735 against the current obesity-drug leaders, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk.
• Neutral Sentiment: Management scheduled a special investor call to discuss the findings. Investors are seeking additional details on study design, durability, safety, and the path toward later-stage development. Viking Therapeutics reports VK2735 trial data
• Negative Sentiment: After the sharp rally, shares are trading near their 52-week high, increasing the risk of profit-taking and valuation concerns. The data are topline clinical results—not approval or commercial revenue—and VK2735 still faces additional trials, regulatory risk, and competition in a crowded obesity market.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Lake Street Capital assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $89.00 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday. Truist Financial set a $87.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday. Zacks Research raised shares of Viking Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $120.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.67.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $33.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.47. The company has a market capitalization of $4.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.94 and a beta of 0.69.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.10) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.21) by $0.11. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.58) earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, CFO Greg Zante sold 21,217 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.47, for a total value of $710,132.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 212,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,102,467.88. The trade was a 9.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 148,517 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.32, for a total value of $4,948,586.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,572,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $85,713,734.12. The trade was a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 187,951 shares of company stock valued at $6,268,442. Company insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the second quarter worth $241,458,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,994,509 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $70,183,000 after acquiring an additional 385,903 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 536.3% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 992,695 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $34,923,000 after purchasing an additional 836,686 shares during the period. Artia Global Partners LP boosted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 392.1% in the 4th quarter. Artia Global Partners LP now owns 719,365 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,307,000 after purchasing an additional 573,186 shares during the period. Finally, ADAR1 Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth $22,393,000. Institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Company Profile

Viking Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders. The company’s research programs target conditions including obesity, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), dyslipidemia and other disorders involving hormone regulation and metabolism.

Viking’s lead program is VK2735, an investigational dual agonist of the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) receptors being developed in injectable and oral formulations for obesity and related metabolic conditions.