Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Up 1.8% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Viking Therapeutics shares rose 1.8% during trading, reaching a last price of $26.28 with a trading volume increase of 3% from average levels.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on the stock, with a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $86.42, though some downgraded their price objectives recently.
• Insider activity revealed significant stock sales by CEO Brian Lian and CFO Greg Zante, with a total of 35,421 shares sold in the last three months, indicating potential concerns regarding insider sentiment.

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) rose 1.8% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $26.55 and last traded at $26.28. Approximately 4,984,642 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 3% from the average daily volume of 4,842,379 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.81.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VKTX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $86.42.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 1.8%

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $29.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.18 and a beta of 0.73.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.58) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.44) by ($0.14). Viking Therapeutics's revenue was up NaN% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.20) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Brian Lian sold 26,889 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.80, for a total transaction of $747,514.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,388,014 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,386,789.20. This represents a 1.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 4,266 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.76, for a total value of $118,424.16. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 168,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,682,001.60. This represents a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 35,421 shares of company stock worth $984,405. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 58.4% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 1,621.4% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,205 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 1,135 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 64.8% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,363 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 536 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.