Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Price Up 6.6% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Viking Therapeutics' stock price increased by 6.6% to $29.72, with over 5.3 million shares traded, surpassing the average daily volume.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings on Vikings Therapeutics, with two strong buys, nine buys, and one sell, reflecting an average target price of $86.42.
• Despite recent analyst activities, the company reported an EPS of ($0.58), missing estimates and indicating challenges in its financial performance.

Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) rose 6.6% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $29.85 and last traded at $29.72. Approximately 5,321,716 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 10% from the average daily volume of 4,837,119 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.88.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VKTX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $86.42.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -19.42 and a beta of 0.64. The business's 50-day moving average price is $29.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.92.

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

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,846,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 4.1% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,476,314 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $39,122,000 after buying an additional 58,191 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 27.0% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 822,278 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $21,790,000 after purchasing an additional 174,887 shares during the period. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC grew its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 52.8% during the second quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 638,204 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $16,912,000 after acquiring an additional 220,396 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 59.2% in the first quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 597,515 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $14,430,000 after buying an additional 222,293 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.

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