Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Price Down 3.4% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) dropped 3.4% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $28.26 and last traded at $28.28. Approximately 556,478 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 3,965,969 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.28.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on VKTX shares. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Raymond James upped their target price on 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 decreased their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.67.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average of $30.84 and a 200-day moving average of $47.33. The company has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -27.97 and a beta of 0.90.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.25) EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 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 value of $2,317,691.25. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 374,134 shares in the company, valued at $15,994,228.50. This represents a 12.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 299,014 shares of company stock valued at $12,782,849. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VKTX. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in Viking Therapeutics by 2.7% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 28,251 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,789,000 after acquiring an additional 748 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter worth $298,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 4.9% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 248,269 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $15,718,000 after acquiring an additional 11,668 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 715,597 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $45,304,000 after purchasing an additional 44,122 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $279,000. 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.