Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $60.39, but opened at $65.75. Viking Therapeutics shares last traded at $66.00, with a volume of 1,311,700 shares changing hands.

The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.23) earnings per share.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on VKTX shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $138.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $108.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 115,859 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.58, for a total transaction of $6,671,161.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,354,927 shares in the company, valued at $135,596,696.66. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 20,786 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.53, for a total value of $1,195,818.58. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $546,535. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 115,859 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.58, for a total transaction of $6,671,161.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,354,927 shares in the company, valued at $135,596,696.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 527,671 shares of company stock worth $34,700,603. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VKTX. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its holdings 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 during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 6.6 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $8.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -83.90 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $63.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $61.76.

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.