Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Trading Down 0.8% - Here's What Happened

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) dropped 0.8% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $27.96 and last traded at $28.45. Approximately 565,483 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 4,509,280 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.68.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VKTX has been the subject of several research reports. Maxim Group decreased their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. B. Riley restated a "buy" rating and set a $96.00 price objective (down from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $96.31.

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Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 3.9 %

The company has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a PE ratio of -27.96 and a beta of 0.90. The firm's fifty day moving average is $33.15 and its 200 day moving average is $49.60.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.25) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 165,259 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,064,822.25. This represents a 23.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,366,570 shares of the company's stock, valued at $101,170,867.50. The trade was a 7.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 299,014 shares of company stock valued at $12,782,849. 4.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of VKTX. Stone House Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 75.9% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 716 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. FIL Ltd boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 116.8% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,203 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 170.2% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 851 shares during 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.