Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Trading Down 2.6%

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report)'s stock price fell 2.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $56.75 and last traded at $56.90. 587,808 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 4,720,249 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.39.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VKTX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.78.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $6.23 billion, a PE ratio of -60.43 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $53.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.56.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.06. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.19) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 115,859 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were 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. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Viking Therapeutics news, CEO Brian Lian sold 115,859 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.58, for a total transaction of $6,671,161.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,354,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $135,596,696.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 18,026 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 362,149 shares in the company, valued at $20,689,572.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 4.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at $37,000. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.