Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Price Up 1.8% – Time to Buy?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) shares rose 1.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $20.35 and last traded at $20.34. Approximately 1,627,165 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 59% from the average daily volume of 3,940,963 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.98.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VKTX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. Maxim Group cut their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.75.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 13.8 %

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $28.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.00 and a beta of 0.84.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.25) EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan bought 1,240 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $24.15 per share, for a total transaction of $29,946.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,946. This trade represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $51,464,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 446.7% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,357,241 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $54,615,000 after acquiring an additional 1,108,972 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 228.5% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,479,596 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $59,540,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029,125 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $24,888,000. Finally, Man Group plc increased its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 3,373.4% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 448,732 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $18,057,000 after acquiring an additional 435,813 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

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.