Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Price Down 8.7% - What's Next?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) shares were down 8.7% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $66.14 and last traded at $66.53. Approximately 13,965,845 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 217% from the average daily volume of 4,411,888 shares. The stock had previously closed at $72.88.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VKTX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $90.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $138.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $80.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $109.80.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 13.4 %

The stock's fifty day moving average price is $64.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.78. The stock has a market cap of $7.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -68.76 and a beta of 1.00.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.23) EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Brian Lian sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.90, for a total transaction of $69,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,354,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $164,609,397.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Viking Therapeutics news, CFO Greg Zante sold 131,687 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.61, for a total transaction of $10,088,541.07. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 149,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,442,929.26. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.90, for a total transaction of $69,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,354,927 shares in the company, valued at $164,609,397.30. 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 525,473 shares of company stock worth $37,088,158. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 44.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,785,724 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $638,429,000 after acquiring an additional 2,403,820 shares during the period. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at approximately $294,380,000. Perpetual Ltd grew its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 55.4% in the third quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 1,269,152 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $80,350,000 after purchasing an additional 452,344 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 10,775.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,004,033 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $63,565,000 after purchasing an additional 994,801 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hood River Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 6.3% during the second quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 714,578 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $37,880,000 after buying an additional 42,650 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.