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

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $27.96, but opened at $26.26. Viking Therapeutics shares last traded at $25.49, with a volume of 1,687,139 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on VKTX. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $96.00 price target (down from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Maxim Group lowered their price target 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. Finally, Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $96.31.

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Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 3.9 %

The business's 50 day moving average is $32.20 and its 200-day moving average is $48.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a P/E ratio of -30.89 and a beta of 0.90.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.25) EPS. Research analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of the firm'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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,366,570 shares in the company, valued at $101,170,867.50. This trade represents a 7.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $2,317,691.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 374,134 shares in the company, valued at $15,994,228.50. This represents a 12.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 299,014 shares of company stock worth $12,782,849 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VKTX. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 712.5% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 10,489 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $664,000 after buying an additional 9,198 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $957,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $196,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 64.6% during the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 8,160 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $517,000 after purchasing an additional 3,202 shares during the period. Finally, Verus Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $222,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company's stock.

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.