Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Price Down 3.7% – Here’s Why

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) traded down 3.7% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $28.43 and last traded at $28.73. 741,261 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 3,972,048 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.83.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VKTX has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Maxim Group cut their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.67.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 2.7 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.01 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a 50-day moving average of $31.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.41.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.25) earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $2,317,691.25. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 374,134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,994,228.50. This represents a 12.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $2,150,709.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 165,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,064,822.25. This trade represents a 23.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 299,014 shares of company stock worth $12,782,849 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. S.A. Mason LLC grew its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,800 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 75.9% during the fourth 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. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 4,980 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 28,929 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,164,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.