Viking Therapeutics Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Key Points

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Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 88,534 call options on the stock. Thisisanincreaseofapproximately359% compared to the typical volume of 19,275 call options.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ:VKTX traded up $0.34 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $26.00. The company had a trading volume of 10,551,665 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,757,632. Viking Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $18.92 and a 1-year high of $81.73. The firm has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of -16.99 and a beta of 0.67. The business's 50 day moving average price is $31.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.64.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last announced 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). During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.20) earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up NaN% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CFO Greg Zante sold 4,266 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.76, for a total value of $118,424.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 168,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,682,001.60. This trade represents a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 26,889 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.80, for a total value of $747,514.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 35,421 shares of company stock valued at $984,405. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 58.4% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the period. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 1,621.4% in the first 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 during the period. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 64.8% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,363 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 536 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VKTX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 price target (down previously from $95.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, April 28th. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target 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. Citigroup lifted 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. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised Viking Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.92.

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.