Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Director Acquires $29,946.00 in Stock

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan acquired 1,240 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $24.15 per share, with a total value 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VKTX opened at $22.62 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $29.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.32. The company has a market capitalization of $2.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.62 and a beta of 0.84. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.53 and a 1 year high of $81.86.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $96.00 price target (down previously from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James lifted 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. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.18.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth $1,715,000. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 92.1% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 131,348 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $8,316,000 after purchasing an additional 62,956 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 109.1% in the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 34,023 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,154,000 after purchasing an additional 17,754 shares in the last quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. increased its position in Viking Therapeutics by 122.4% during the 4th quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 80,602 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,243,000 after purchasing an additional 44,365 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 103.1% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 42,612 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,715,000 after buying an additional 21,627 shares in 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.