Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Price Up 1.8% Following Strong Earnings

Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) rose 1.8% on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $67.78 and last traded at $66.13. Approximately 904,840 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 5,629,811 shares. The stock had previously closed at $64.93.

The biotechnology company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by $0.01. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.25) earnings per share.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VKTX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, March 15th. StockNews.com raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $32.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $37.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $112.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CEO Brian Lian sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.95, for a total value of $838,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,264,882 shares in the company, valued at $54,243,923.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Brian Lian sold 35,000 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.95, for a total transaction of $838,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,264,882 shares in the company, valued at $54,243,923.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 25,000 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total transaction of $701,250.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 329,079 shares of company stock worth $8,769,653 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 370.7% during the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 353 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Gainplan LLC purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the first quarter worth $246,000. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the first quarter worth $61,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 80.0% during the first quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,600 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 125.6% during the first quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,015 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 5.8 %

The company’s fifty day moving average is $67.61 and its 200-day moving average is $34.55.

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.