Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Down 3.1% - Here's Why

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) shares traded down 3.1% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $57.91 and last traded at $58.74. 1,398,657 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 6,137,914 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.60.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $90.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $80.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James lifted their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $138.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Viking Therapeutics to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $109.80.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 8.8 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $6.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -59.64 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $64.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.71.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (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) earnings per share. Research 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 112,870 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.80, for a total value of $7,426,846.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,354,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $154,954,196.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Lawson Macartney sold 2,000 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.67, for a total value of $137,340.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 47,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,293,756.55. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 112,870 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.80, for a total value of $7,426,846.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,354,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at $154,954,196.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 506,687 shares of company stock worth $36,029,679. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VKTX. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $294,380,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 2,403,820 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 10,775.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,004,033 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $63,565,000 after buying an additional 994,801 shares in the last quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $55,098,000. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $54,295,000. 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.

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