Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Sets New 1-Year Low - What's Next?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $29.30 and last traded at $29.52, with a volume of 651898 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $30.17.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VKTX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Maxim Group reduced their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. B. Riley restated a "buy" rating and issued a $96.00 price objective (down from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $97.29.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 3.3 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -30.48 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $37.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.85.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.25) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $2,150,709.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 165,259 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,064,822.25. This represents a 23.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value 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 $101,170,867.50. This trade represents a 7.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 299,014 shares of company stock valued at $12,782,849. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VKTX. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,464,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 446.7% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,357,241 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $54,615,000 after purchasing an additional 1,108,972 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $63,565,000 after buying an additional 994,801 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $24,888,000. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $18,443,000. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.