Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Trading Up 8.6% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Viking Therapeutics shares increased by 8.6% on Monday, reaching a high of $32.64, with trading volume significantly above average at 7.2 million shares.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for the stock, with two strong buy ratings, nine buy ratings, and one sell rating, while the average target price is set at $86.42.
• The company reported an earnings miss, with a loss of ($0.58) EPS against an expected ($0.44), reflecting ongoing challenges despite a growing market cap of $3.63 billion.

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) shares shot up 8.6% on Monday . The company traded as high as $32.64 and last traded at $32.28. 7,206,418 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 49% from the average session volume of 4,849,744 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.72.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on 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. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Two investment 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.42.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

The business's 50-day moving average is $29.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.93. The firm has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.10 and a beta of 0.64.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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). Viking Therapeutics's revenue for the quarter was up NaN% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.20) EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 9,209.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 24,392 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $589,000 after acquiring an additional 24,130 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 64.8% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,363 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. increased its position in Viking Therapeutics by 222,100.0% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 2,222 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 2,221 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 101.7% in the first quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 23,800 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $575,000 after buying an additional 12,000 shares during the period. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 286.0% in the first quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 20,245 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $489,000 after buying an additional 15,000 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is 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.

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