Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Gap Up - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Viking Therapeutics' shares gapped up significantly, opening at $35.44 after a previous close of $31.42, with a trading volume of over 2.2 million shares.
• Analyst ratings for VKTX vary, with price targets set between $38.00 and $105.00, and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $86.50.
• The company recently reported a quarterly loss of ($0.81) earnings per share, missing analysts' expectations, despite a slight revenue increase compared to the previous year.

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $31.42, but opened at $35.44. Viking Therapeutics shares last traded at $34.95, with a volume of 2,223,341 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VKTX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $105.00 price objective on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.50.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.83 billion, a PE ratio of -22.12 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50-day moving average of $28.81 and a 200 day moving average of $28.54.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.81) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.67) by ($0.14). During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.22) earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 80.2% during the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,433 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083 shares during the last quarter. MN Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 17.3% during the third quarter. MN Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 26,997 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $709,000 after acquiring an additional 3,973 shares during the last quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 26.9% during the third quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC now owns 55,930 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,470,000 after acquiring an additional 11,870 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 19.7% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 17,216 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $452,000 after acquiring an additional 2,829 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 10.7% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 59,264 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,557,000 after acquiring an additional 5,750 shares during the last quarter. 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.

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