Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Trading Down 0.5% – What’s Next?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)’s stock price fell 0.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $65.22 and last traded at $65.54. 267,433 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 94% from the average session volume of 4,326,089 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.85.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on VKTX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price target for the company. Raymond James increased their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $138.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $108.60.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 0.5 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $7.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -70.47 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $62.29 and a 200-day moving average of $62.14.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.06. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.19) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 18,026 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.13, for a total value of $1,029,825.38. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 362,149 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,689,572.37. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Brian Lian sold 115,859 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.58, for a total value of $6,671,161.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,354,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $135,596,696.66. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 18,026 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.13, for a total transaction of $1,029,825.38. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 362,149 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,689,572.37. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 516,671 shares of company stock worth $33,810,813. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 17.8% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 6,059 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $384,000 after purchasing an additional 915 shares in the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Viking Therapeutics by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,190 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $455,000 after buying an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 16,955 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,074,000 after buying an additional 1,202 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 320.3% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 69,503 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,400,000 after acquiring an additional 52,968 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Morris Harris LLC acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $317,000. 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.