Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Trading Down 4.8% – Here’s What Happened

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)’s stock price was down 4.8% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $33.11 and last traded at $33.18. Approximately 1,010,067 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 2,927,458 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.86.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 target price for the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $138.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $106.75.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 5.2 %

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $47.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.31. The company has a market cap of $3.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -35.49 and a beta of 0.95.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.23) earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.97 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Lawson Macartney sold 2,000 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.67, for a total transaction of $137,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 47,965 shares in the company, valued at $3,293,756.55. The trade was a 4.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $8,314,447.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,366,570 shares in the company, valued at $101,170,867.50. This represents a 7.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 443,701 shares of company stock worth $23,898,520. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Blue Trust Inc. bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 84.3% during the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 553 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.