Viking Therapeutics Experiences Spike in Trading Volume After Analyst Upgrade

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, encountered a significant surge in trading volume following a notable upgrade by analyst firm Truist Financial. Truist lifted its price target on Viking from a previous $32.00 to an impressive $120.00 and reaffirmed a buy rating on the stock. The trading volume peaked at about 5.2 million shares, a slight decrease from the last session’s volume of over 5.3 million shares. After trading, VKTX settled at a price of $88.23, a modest drop from its preceding closing at $94.50.

Analysts Chime In

Several financial analysts have recently provided updates on Viking's stock forecast. William Blair maintained an 'outperform' rating, while HC Wainwright boosted its price target from $33.00 to $90.00, endorsing a 'buy' stance. Maxim Group increased its price target from $35.00 to $50.00, also recommending a 'buy'. Raymond James and Oppenheimer elevated their price objectives to $115.00 and $116.00 respectively, both maintaining an 'outperform' rating. Overall, Viking is perceived favorably by analysts, holding a 'Moderate Buy' consensus and an average price target of $72.00.

Insider Activities

The company has also seen insider trading activity. Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 25,000 shares at an average price of $28.05. CFO Greg Zante sold 15,000 shares priced at $17.90. Following these transactions, insiders have sold a total of 374,079 shares worth nearly $9.73 million over the last three months, with insiders holding 4.40% of Viking’s stock.

Institutional Ownership

Various hedge funds and institutional investors have adjusted their holdings in Viking Therapeutics. BlackRock Inc. astonishingly amplified its position by 237.9%, owning almost 6.9 million shares. Vanguard Group witnessed a smaller increase of 1.8%, reaching a total of about 5.4 million shares. Similarly, State Street Corp experienced a dramatic rise of over 2000%, ending up with more than 5.2 million shares. Alliancebernstein L.P. saw a monumental growth of over 21500%, currently holding nearly 3 million shares. As of the recent data, institutional investors and hedge funds own approximately 78.13% of Viking’s stock.

Company Performance

Viking has a market cap of $7.74 billion, and despite a negative PE ratio of -83.75, it shows market stability with a beta value of 0.54. The averages of 50-day and 200-day moving prices were $28.37 and $18.36 respectively.

About Viking Therapeutics

Viking focuses on discovering treatments for metabolic and endocrine disorders. Its foremost drug candidate, VK2809, is progressing through Phase IIb clinical trials aimed at treating non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

Quarterly Earnings

The company’s recent quarterly earnings report, released on February 7th, displayed an EPS of ($0.25), in line with the consensus estimate and reflecting no change from the EPS reported in the same quarter of the previous year. Analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics will post an EPS of -1.12 for the current fiscal year.

Viking, Therapeutics, Trading