Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) traded down 1.7% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $29.24 and last traded at $29.66. 1,840,867 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 54% from the average session volume of 3,982,418 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.17.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $96.00 price objective (down from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Maxim Group lowered their price objective 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. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Raymond James upped their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Scotiabank assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. One investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $97.29.
Get Our Latest Analysis on Viking Therapeutics
Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 3.3 %
The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.88. The stock has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -30.48 and a beta of 0.90.
Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.25) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Insider Activity
In other news, 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 value of $2,317,691.25. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 374,134 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,994,228.50. This represents a 12.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $8,314,447.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,366,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,170,867.50. This trade represents a 7.59 % 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 valued at $12,782,849 in the last 90 days. 4.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, CNB Bank acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company's stock.
About Viking Therapeutics
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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