Viking Therapeutics - VKTX Short Interest Ratio & Short Volume

Short interest is the volume of Viking Therapeutics shares that have been sold short but have not yet been covered or closed out. As of January 15th, investors have sold 5,930,000 shares of VKTX short. 8.89% of Viking Therapeutics' shares are currently sold short. Learn More on Viking Therapeutics' current short interest.

The short interest ratio, also known as the "days to cover ratio", is calculated by dividing the number of shares of a stock sold short divided by its average trading volume. A short interest ratio ranging between 1 and 4 generally indicates strong positive sentiment about a stock and a lack of short sellers. A short interest ratio of 10 or greater indicates strong pessimism about a stock. VKTX shares currently have a short interest ratio of 2.0. Learn More on Viking Therapeutics's short interest ratio.

As of the most recent reporting period, the following institutional investors, funds, and major shareholders have reported short positions of Viking Therapeutics: Simplex Trading LLC, Concourse Financial Group Securities Inc., Citadel Advisors LLC, and Group One Trading L.P.. These positions are disclosed in Form 13F filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Companies that have a short interest as a percentage of float below 10% indicates positive investor sentiment and few short sellers. Stocks with a short interest percentage above 10% is considered high, suggesting some investors are pessimistic about the stock. Companies with a short interest percentage of 20% or more indicates widespread negative sentiment. 8.89% of Viking Therapeutics' floating shares are currently sold short.

Viking Therapeutics saw a increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 5,930,000 shares, an increase of 4.2% from the previous total of 5,690,000 shares. Changes in short volume can be used to identify positive and negative investor sentiment. Investors that short sell a stock are betting that its price will decline in the future. An increase in short sale volume suggests bearish (negative) sentiment among investors. A decrease on short sale volume suggests bullish (positive) sentiment.

Viking Therapeutics currently has issued a total of 76,690,000 shares. Some of Viking Therapeutics' outstanding shares are available for trading, while others are subject to various restrictions. The public float, also referred to as floating shares or "the float", are shares that publicly owned, unrestricted and available to trade on the open market. Viking Therapeutics currently has a public float of 66,700,000 shares.

8.89% of Viking Therapeutics' shares are currently sold short. Here is how the short interest of companies in the industry of "pharmaceutical preparations" compare to Viking Therapeutics: Altimmune, Inc. (14.89%), Mersana Therapeutics, Inc. (5.23%), Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (13.21%), Seres Therapeutics, Inc. (5.27%), Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (4.66%), MorphoSys AG (0.11%), Fulcrum Therapeutics, Inc. (6.38%), Cogent Biosciences, Inc. (12.96%), Edgewise Therapeutics, Inc. (7.42%), and Phibro Animal Health Co. (2.07%).

As of the most recent reporting period, the following stocks had the largest short interest positions: Occidental Petroleum Co. ($3.43 billion), T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. ($2.26 billion), Coinbase Global, Inc. ($2.19 billion), Etsy, Inc. ($1.78 billion), Paramount Global ($1.77 billion), Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. ($1.69 billion), United Rentals, Inc. ($1.53 billion), American Airlines Group Inc. ($1.52 billion), PG&E Co. ($1.48 billion), and Voya Financial, Inc. ($1.47 billion). View all of the most shorted stocks.

Short selling VKTX is an investing strategy that aims to generate trading profit from Viking Therapeutics as its price is falling. VKTX shares are trading up $0.46 today. To short a stock, an investor borrows shares, sells them and buys the shares back on the public market later to return it to the lender. Short sellers are betting that a stock will decline in price. If the stock does drop after selling, the short seller buys it back at a lower price and returns it to the lender. The difference between the sell price and the buy price is the trader's profit.

A short squeeze for Viking Therapeutics occurs when it has a large amount of short interest and its stock increases in price. This forces short sellers to cover their short interest positions by buying actual shares of VKTX, which in turn drives the price of the stock up even further.

Short interest is typically published by a stock exchange once per month. However, NASDAQ publishes a report for U.S. stocks, including VKTX, twice per month. The most recent reporting period available is January, 15 2023.