Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Down 0.6% - Here's What Happened

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 0.6% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $29.10 and last traded at $29.27. 643,083 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 3,965,934 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.46.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $96.00 target price (down from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $97.67.

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Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 2.1 %

The stock has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.95 and a beta of 0.90. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $31.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.66.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.25) EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of the company'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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,366,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,170,867.50. This trade represents a 7.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 299,014 shares of company stock worth $12,782,849. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VKTX. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,464,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 446.7% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 228.5% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,479,596 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $59,540,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029,125 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $24,888,000. Finally, Man Group plc boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 3,373.4% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 448,732 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $18,057,000 after purchasing an additional 435,813 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.