Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Price Down 1.2% - Here's What Happened

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on VKTX shares. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $96.00 price objective (down previously from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics 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 issued a buy rating and one has given 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 $97.29.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -30.48 and a beta of 0.90. The firm's fifty day moving average is $37.57 and its 200-day moving average is $52.65.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 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 $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 represents a 7.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 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 $2,150,709.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 165,259 shares in the company, valued at $7,064,822.25. This represents a 23.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 299,014 shares of company stock worth $12,782,849. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,715,438 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $672,629,000 after acquiring an additional 96,008 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,880,713 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $75,704,000 after acquiring an additional 17,046 shares during the last quarter. Braidwell LP raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 27.9% in the 4th quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 1,479,666 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $59,542,000 after acquiring an additional 322,689 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings 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 worth $59,540,000 after acquiring an additional 1,029,125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings 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 worth $54,615,000 after acquiring an additional 1,108,972 shares during the last quarter. 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.