Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Up 7.7% - Time to Buy?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) rose 7.7% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $28.74 and last traded at $28.73. Approximately 1,640,752 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 59% from the average daily volume of 4,013,823 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.67.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price objective (down from $95.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $87.15.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.16 billion, a PE ratio of -24.49 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $27.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.90.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.31) by ($0.10). During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.26) EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CFO Greg Zante sold 4,266 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.76, for a total transaction of $118,424.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 168,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,682,001.60. This represents a 2.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 4,266 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.77, for a total value of $118,466.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 377,535 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,484,146.95. This trade represents a 1.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,421 shares of company stock valued at $984,405 over the last ninety days. 4.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 1,621.4% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,205 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,135 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 64.8% in the first 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 period. FIL Ltd boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 116.8% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,203 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 222,100.0% during the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 2,222 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 2,221 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 170.2% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.03% of the company's stock.

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.