Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $33.50, but opened at $31.02. Viking Therapeutics shares last traded at $31.68, with a volume of 1,470,441 shares changing hands.

The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.25) EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $96.00 price objective (down from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $96.92.

Insider Activity

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $2,150,709.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 165,259 shares in the company, valued at $7,064,822.25. This represents a 23.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $8,314,447.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,366,570 shares of the company's stock, valued at $101,170,867.50. The trade was a 7.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 299,014 shares of company stock worth $12,782,849 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $24,888,000. Fiera Capital Corp acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter worth $18,443,000. Eventide Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 79.1% during the third quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 452,969 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $28,677,000 after purchasing an additional 200,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nepsis Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $11,251,000. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 3.5 %

The stock's 50-day moving average price is $40.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.90. The company has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -32.56 and a beta of 0.90.

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.