Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Trading Down 1.6% - What's Next?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) traded down 1.6% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $29.82 and last traded at $30.38. 731,128 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 3,974,455 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.89.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $96.00 price objective (down previously from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler reduced 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. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $97.67.

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Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 5.7 %

The firm's fifty day moving average price is $31.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a PE ratio of -28.35 and a beta of 0.90.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last released 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 last year, the firm earned ($0.25) EPS. On average, analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,366,570 shares of the company's stock, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $2,317,691.25. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 299,014 shares of company stock valued at $12,782,849 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 4.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VKTX. FMR LLC raised its position in Viking Therapeutics by 0.6% during the fourth 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Viking Therapeutics by 0.9% during the fourth 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 period. Braidwell LP raised its position in Viking Therapeutics by 27.9% during the fourth 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 period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised 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 acquiring an additional 1,029,125 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised 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 acquiring an additional 1,108,972 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.