Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Trading Down 12.6% – What’s Next?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) shares were down 12.6% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $29.20 and last traded at $29.76. Approximately 4,326,532 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 3% from the average daily volume of 4,447,204 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.07.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on VKTX shares. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Maxim Group lowered their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.29.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $36.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.07. The stock has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -30.20 and a beta of 0.90.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $2,317,691.25. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 374,134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,994,228.50. The trade was a 12.66 % decrease in their position. 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 stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $2,150,709.75. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 165,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,064,822.25. This trade represents a 23.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 299,014 shares of company stock worth $12,782,849 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VKTX. United Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $234,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 47,547 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,913,000 after acquiring an additional 2,295 shares in the last quarter. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $170,000. Waverly Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 34.6% in the 4th quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 48,369 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,946,000 after purchasing an additional 12,426 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP grew its position in Viking Therapeutics by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 93,294 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,754,000 after purchasing an additional 29,475 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.