Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Trading Up 10.6% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Viking Therapeutics' stock surged by 10.6% to close at $25.54, significantly above the previous close of $23.09.
• Wall Street analysts maintain a positive outlook on the stock, with a consensus target price of $87.50 and several analysts assigning "Strong Buy" and "Buy" ratings.
• Although the company reported a loss of ($0.58) EPS for the last quarter, it still drew interest from institutional investors, with 76.03% of the stock now owned by these entities.

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 10.6% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $25.37 and last traded at $25.54. Approximately 5,040,872 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 5% from the average daily volume of 4,802,116 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.09.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $87.50.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a PE ratio of -17.02 and a beta of 0.73. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $30.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.11.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last posted 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 in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.20) EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up NaN% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 4,266 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.77, for a total value of $118,466.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 377,535 shares in the company, valued at $10,484,146.95. This trade represents a 1.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 4,266 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $4,682,001.60. The trade was a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,421 shares of company stock worth $984,405 in the last three months. 4.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VKTX. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $46,846,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 6,315.6% in the second quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 596,650 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $15,811,000 after acquiring an additional 587,350 shares during the period. Duquesne Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter worth approximately $14,556,000. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter worth approximately $12,201,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter worth approximately $9,283,000. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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.