Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) traded up 6.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $26.96 and last traded at $26.63. 5,467,448 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 13% from the average session volume of 4,852,236 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.97.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $90.38.
Get Our Latest Research Report on Viking Therapeutics
Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 6.6%
The firm's 50-day moving average is $30.23 and its 200-day moving average is $28.05. The company has a market capitalization of $2.99 billion, a PE ratio of -17.41 and a beta of 0.73.
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 the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by ($0.14). During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.20) EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up NaN% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, CFO Greg Zante sold 4,266 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.76, for a total transaction of $118,424.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 168,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,682,001.60. This represents a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 26,889 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.80, for a total transaction of $747,514.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,388,014 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $66,386,789.20. This represents a 1.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,421 shares of company stock worth $984,405. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.
Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics
A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. PVG Asset Management Corp raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 24.4% in the second quarter. PVG Asset Management Corp now owns 11,258 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $298,000 after buying an additional 2,205 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter worth about $969,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter worth about $132,000. Marex Group plc bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter worth about $983,000. Finally, MASO CAPITAL PARTNERS Ltd bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter worth about $398,000. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Viking Therapeutics Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
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