Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Price Down 0% - Here's What Happened

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 0% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $27.70 and last traded at $28.34. 587,745 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 3,950,086 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.35.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on VKTX shares. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Maxim Group decreased their price target 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. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and set a $96.00 price objective (down from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research 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 objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $97.67.

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Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 0.8 %

The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $31.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.51. The company has a market cap of $3.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.67 and a beta of 0.90.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.25) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 75.9% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 716 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. FIL Ltd raised its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 116.8% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,203 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 170.2% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 851 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.