Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Trading Down 1.2% - Here's Why

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) was down 1.2% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $29.16 and last traded at $29.61. Approximately 758,978 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 3,973,510 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.96.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on VKTX shares. Citigroup began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Scotiabank began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James increased their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Maxim Group decreased their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $97.29.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 3.3 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $37.97 and a 200-day moving average of $52.88. The company has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -30.48 and a beta of 0.90.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.25) earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of Viking Therapeutics 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 $8,314,447.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,366,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,170,867.50. The trade was a 7.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of Viking Therapeutics 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 owns 165,259 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,064,822.25. This trade represents a 23.34 % 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 in the last quarter. 4.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Oak Ridge Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $837,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 43.5% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 102,324 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $6,478,000 after purchasing an additional 31,011 shares during the period. Nvwm LLC purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter worth $999,000. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 88.0% in the third quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 36,666 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $2,322,000 after purchasing an additional 17,159 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 92.1% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 131,348 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $8,316,000 after purchasing an additional 62,956 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.