Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Trading Up 1.6% Following Earnings Beat

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) shares were up 1.6% on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $69.17 and last traded at $66.14. Approximately 1,593,187 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 5,598,100 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.07.

The biotechnology company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by $0.01. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.25) EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VKTX shares. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $32.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Maxim Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $112.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 269,079 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.87, for a total transaction of $7,230,152.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,184,882 shares in the company, valued at $58,707,779.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 25,000 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total value of $701,250.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 269,079 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.87, for a total transaction of $7,230,152.73. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,184,882 shares in the company, valued at $58,707,779.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 329,079 shares of company stock valued at $8,769,653. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,381,904 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $100,157,000 after purchasing an additional 97,552 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 59.6% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,202,228 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $24,379,000 after buying an additional 822,156 shares in the last quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C grew its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C now owns 1,279,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $14,159,000 after acquiring an additional 154,000 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,274,945 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $23,727,000 after acquiring an additional 311,681 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 88.3% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,119,885 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $20,841,000 after acquiring an additional 525,296 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 7.9 %

The company has a market capitalization of $8.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -79.90 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.79.

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.