Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Trading Down 0.6% - Time to Sell?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 0.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $29.06 and last traded at $29.37. Approximately 1,432,975 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 4,007,619 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.55.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VKTX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James raised their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Maxim Group reduced their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $97.67.

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Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.73. The company has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -30.89 and a beta of 0.90.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 earned ($0.25) earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 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 value 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 trade represents a 12.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 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 $2,150,709.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 165,259 shares in the company, 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 have sold a total of 299,014 shares of company stock worth $12,782,849 over the last quarter. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $51,464,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 446.7% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,357,241 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $54,615,000 after buying an additional 1,108,972 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 228.5% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,479,596 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $59,540,000 after buying an additional 1,029,125 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $24,888,000. Finally, Man Group plc lifted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 3,373.4% during the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 448,732 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $18,057,000 after buying an additional 435,813 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company's stock.

Viking Therapeutics Company Profile

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.