Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $41.49, but opened at $44.18. Viking Therapeutics shares last traded at $42.61, with a volume of 2,035,766 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VKTX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $138.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, September 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.75.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -45.43 and a beta of 0.88. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $57.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.81.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.23) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total transaction of $889,790.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $768,455. This trade represents a 53.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lawson Macartney sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.67, for a total value of $137,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 47,965 shares in the company, valued at $3,293,756.55. This represents a 4.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 144,687 shares of company stock valued at $11,115,671. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VKTX. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 84.3% during the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 553 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. 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.