Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Sees Large Volume Increase – What’s Next?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 2,497,195 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 8% from the previous session’s volume of 2,712,786 shares.The stock last traded at $38.1330 and had previously closed at $40.85.

More Viking Therapeutics News

Here are the key news stories impacting Viking Therapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Viking reported positive topline results from the VK2735-102 maintenance study. Patients receiving 17.5 mg weekly achieved approximately 22% placebo-adjusted weight loss at week 33, with no apparent weight-loss plateau. Viking Therapeutics’ obesity drug shows 22% weight loss in study
• Positive Sentiment: The study also suggested VK2735 could preserve most of the initial weight loss with less-frequent dosing: up to 97% was maintained after switching to every-other-week dosing and up to 90% after monthly dosing. This could improve convenience and treatment adherence. Viking Therapeutics announces VK2735 maintenance results
• Positive Sentiment: Viking said maintenance dosing was well tolerated, with gastrointestinal adverse-event rates similar to placebo. The results strengthen the potential commercial positioning of VK2735 against the current obesity-drug leaders, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk.
• Neutral Sentiment: Management scheduled a special investor call to discuss the findings. Investors are seeking additional details on study design, durability, safety, and the path toward later-stage development. Viking Therapeutics reports VK2735 trial data
• Negative Sentiment: After the sharp rally, shares are trading near their 52-week high, increasing the risk of profit-taking and valuation concerns. The data are topline clinical results—not approval or commercial revenue—and VK2735 still faces additional trials, regulatory risk, and competition in a crowded obesity market.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VKTX. Zacks Research raised Viking Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Truist Financial set a $87.00 target price on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.67.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $33.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.47. The company has a market cap of $4.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.94 and a beta of 0.69.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.21) by $0.11. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.58) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -4.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 18,217 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.47, for a total transaction of $609,722.99. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 422,760 shares in the company, valued at $14,149,777.20. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 21,217 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.47, for a total value of $710,132.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 212,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,102,467.88. The trade was a 9.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 187,951 shares of company stock worth $6,268,442 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VKTX. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 59,900.0% during the 2nd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,400 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 2,396 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,532,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,823,000. RFG Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 142,790 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,570,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 16,533 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $645,000 after purchasing an additional 577 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

About Viking Therapeutics

Viking Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders. The company’s research programs target conditions including obesity, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), dyslipidemia and other disorders involving hormone regulation and metabolism.

Viking’s lead program is VK2735, an investigational dual agonist of the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) receptors being developed in injectable and oral formulations for obesity and related metabolic conditions.