Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Trading Down 0.1%

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) shares traded down 0.1% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $50.51 and last traded at $51.49. 409,170 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 4,683,971 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.54.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VKTX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday. Finally, Maxim Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.78.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 2.0 %

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $55.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.89. The firm has a market cap of $7.28 billion, a PE ratio of -73.41 and a beta of 1.03.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.19) EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CFO Greg Zante sold 66,756 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.69, for a total value of $4,986,005.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 174,854 shares in the company, valued at $13,059,845.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 281,425 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.66, for a total value of $22,136,890.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 348,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,413,639.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 66,756 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.69, for a total value of $4,986,005.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 174,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,059,845.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 370.7% in the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 353 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, LifeSteps Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.