Viking Therapeutics Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Key Points

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Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders acquired 88,534 call options on the company. Thisrepresentsanincreaseofapproximately359% compared to the average volume of 19,275 call options.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, CFO Greg Zante sold 4,266 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.76, for a total value of $118,424.16. Following the transaction, 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 the SEC website. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 4,266 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.77, for a total transaction of $118,466.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 377,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,484,146.95. The trade was a 1.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 35,421 shares of company stock worth $984,405. Insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Viking Therapeutics by 58.4% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Quarry LP grew its position in Viking Therapeutics by 1,621.4% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,205 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,135 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in Viking Therapeutics by 64.8% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,363 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 536 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 43.5%

Shares of NASDAQ VKTX traded down $18.2980 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $23.7920. 38,673,724 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,333,694. The firm has a market cap of $2.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.62 and a beta of 0.67. Viking Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $18.92 and a twelve month high of $81.73. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.81.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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). The company's quarterly revenue was up NaN% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.20) EPS. Research analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on VKTX. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Raymond James Financial decreased 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 report on Thursday, July 24th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (down from $95.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $86.92.

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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