Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Down 5% – What’s Next?

Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) traded down 5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $26.42 and last traded at $26.59. 1,140,368 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 3,952,332 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.98.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on VKTX shares. Scotiabank started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. Maxim Group reduced their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. 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 note on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Raymond James upped their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.18.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 1.8 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.88 billion, a PE ratio of -25.65 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $30.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.85.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released 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 quarter last year, the company posted ($0.25) earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $8,314,447.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,366,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,170,867.50. This trade represents a 7.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $2,317,691.25. Following the completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 299,014 shares of company stock valued at $12,782,849. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 748 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 6.6% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at $279,000. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 13.7% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 129,345 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $8,189,000 after purchasing an additional 15,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at $884,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

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.