Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 852,597 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 61% from the previous session’s volume of 2,192,137 shares.The stock last traded at $35.92 and had previously closed at $38.88.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on VKTX shares. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Piper Sandler began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $138.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, B. Riley initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $109.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $106.75.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 6.6 %

The company’s 50-day moving average is $47.65 and its 200 day moving average is $56.31. The firm has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a PE ratio of -35.01 and a beta of 0.95.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.23) earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $8,314,447.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,366,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,170,867.50. This trade represents a 7.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total transaction of $889,790.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 9,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $768,455. This represents a 53.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 443,701 shares of company stock valued at $23,898,520 in the last 90 days. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% during the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 5.9% during the third quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 4,306 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $273,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its position in Viking Therapeutics by 84.3% during the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 553 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.