Viking Therapeutics Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Investors bought 23,521 call options on the company. This is an increase of 45% compared to the average volume of 16,210 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on VKTX shares. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Viking Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target (down from $95.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.15.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan bought 1,240 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $24.15 per share, for a total transaction of $29,946.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,946. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 75.9% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 716 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 1,621.4% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,205 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,135 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 64.8% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,363 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 116.8% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,203 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. grew its position in Viking Therapeutics by 222,100.0% during the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 2,222 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 2,221 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 5.7%

NASDAQ:VKTX opened at $29.14 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.55. Viking Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $18.92 and a 52 week high of $81.73. The stock has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a PE ratio of -29.14 and a beta of 0.65.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.31) by ($0.10). The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.26) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.