Short Interest in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Expands By 18.5%

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) saw a large growth in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 23,930,000 shares, a growth of 18.5% from the January 15th total of 20,200,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 4,060,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.9 days.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VKTX opened at $30.48 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -30.48 and a beta of 0.90. Viking Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $28.64 and a fifty-two week high of $99.41. The company’s 50-day moving average is $37.97 and its 200 day moving average is $52.85.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.25) EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics will post -1.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler reduced 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 note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $102.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.29.

Insider Activity

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $2,150,709.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 165,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,064,822.25. The trade was a 23.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $8,314,447.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,366,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,170,867.50. This trade represents a 7.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 299,014 shares of company stock worth $12,782,849 in the last quarter. 4.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VKTX. Norges Bank bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $51,464,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 446.7% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,357,241 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $54,615,000 after purchasing an additional 1,108,972 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 10,775.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,004,033 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $63,565,000 after acquiring an additional 994,801 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $24,888,000. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $18,443,000. Institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

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.