Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Traders bought 16,378 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 81% compared to the typical volume of 9,069 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VKTX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $83.00 price objective for the company. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, March 26th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.60.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VKTX. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 58.0% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 945 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Quattro Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Viking Therapeutics by 169.2% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,077 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 677 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 10.7%

VKTX stock traded up $3.46 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $35.83. The company had a trading volume of 3,267,908 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,616,800. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.16 billion, a PE ratio of -8.63 and a beta of 0.69. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $31.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.64. Viking Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $22.96 and a fifty-two week high of $43.15.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.37) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.01) by ($0.36). During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.41) earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics will post -4.7 EPS for the current year.

Viking Therapeutics Company Profile

Viking Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders. Headquartered in San Diego, California, the company’s pipeline leverages small-molecule approaches to target hormone signaling pathways implicated in conditions such as non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes and muscle wasting disorders.

The company’s lead programs include VK2809, a thyroid hormone receptor‐beta agonist designed to reduce liver fat and improve lipid profiles in patients with NASH and dyslipidemia, and VK5211, a selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) aimed at enhancing muscle mass and function in individuals with muscle wasting conditions.