Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Price Up 4.1% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Viking Therapeutics' stock price increased by 4.1% to $27.37, with a notable trading volume decline compared to recent averages.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook with multiple "buy" ratings and varying price targets, the highest being $125.00 from BTIG Research.
• The company reported an earnings loss of ($0.58) EPS for the last quarter, missing estimates, while institutional investors significantly increased their stakes in the company.

Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) rose 4.1% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $27.40 and last traded at $27.37. Approximately 4,654,942 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 4% from the average daily volume of 4,838,901 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.28.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on VKTX. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday. Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $86.42.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 4.1%

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.89 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) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by ($0.14). During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.20) earnings per share. Viking Therapeutics's revenue for the quarter was up NaN% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VKTX. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 9,209.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 24,392 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $589,000 after purchasing an additional 24,130 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 64.8% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,363 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 222,100.0% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 2,222 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 2,221 shares in the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at $958,000. Finally, Principia Wealth Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 10.5% during the first quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 6,478 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $150,000 after purchasing an additional 616 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is 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.