Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Trading Up 1%

Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) were up 1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $77.52 and last traded at $76.15. Approximately 1,360,055 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 5,514,446 shares. The stock had previously closed at $75.42.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on VKTX shares. StockNews.com raised Viking Therapeutics to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $110.00 price target for the company. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Raymond James raised 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. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $112.25.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $69.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.78 billion, a PE ratio of -85.57 and a beta of 1.05.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by $0.01. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.25) EPS. Research analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CEO Brian Lian sold 269,079 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.87, for a total transaction of $7,230,152.73. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,184,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,707,779.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Viking Therapeutics news, CEO Brian Lian sold 269,079 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.87, for a total transaction of $7,230,152.73. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,184,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,707,779.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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. 4.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,381,904 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $100,157,000 after buying an additional 97,552 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 59.6% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,202,228 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $24,379,000 after buying an additional 822,156 shares in the last quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C now owns 1,279,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $14,159,000 after buying an additional 154,000 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 32.4% during the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,274,945 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $23,727,000 after buying an additional 311,681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 88.3% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,119,885 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $20,841,000 after buying an additional 525,296 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.