Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Up 5.2% – Here’s Why

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)’s stock price traded up 5.2% during trading on Friday. The company traded as high as $28.88 and last traded at $29.0010. Approximately 1,871,239 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 43% from the average session volume of 3,295,865 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.58.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VKTX has been the subject of several research reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $106.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Viking Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, October 4th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.36.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 5.9%

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.41 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 7.27 and a quick ratio of 7.27. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.16.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.55) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.06) by ($0.49). During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.81) EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -5.26 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VKTX. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 1,027.2% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 482,060 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $15,715,000 after buying an additional 439,293 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 403,430 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $13,152,000 after buying an additional 52,252 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth about $539,000. AlphaGrep UK Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth about $216,000. Finally, Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Viking Therapeutics Company Profile

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company based in San Diego, California. Founded in 2012, it develops medicines for metabolic and endocrine disorders and does not have commercially marketed products. The company’s pipeline includes VK2735, an investigational drug that targets the GLP-1 and GIP receptors and is being developed for obesity, and VK2809, a thyroid hormone receptor beta agonist being studied for metabolic and liver conditions. Viking is also developing VK0214 for X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy, a rare genetic disorder.