Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Price Up 1.8% on Earnings Beat

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) shares traded up 1.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $67.78 and last traded at $66.13. 904,840 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session 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, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by $0.01. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.25) EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $37.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.25.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total transaction of $701,250.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total transaction of $701,250.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 269,079 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.87, for a total transaction of $7,230,152.73. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,184,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,707,779.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 329,079 shares of company stock valued at $8,769,653 over the last three months. 4.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

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

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $67.61 and a 200 day moving average of $34.55.

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.