Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 1.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $21.03 and last traded at $20.92. 1,370,809 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 65% from the average session volume of 3,924,381 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.28.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VKTX shares. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $96.00 target price (down previously from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Maxim Group dropped their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $89.75.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Viking Therapeutics
Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 3.3 %
The stock has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a PE ratio of -22.22 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $27.71 and a 200 day moving average of $43.20.
Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.25) EPS. Research analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Insider Activity
In related news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan purchased 1,240 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $24.15 per share, with a total value of $29,946.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,240 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,946. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 4.70% of the company's stock.
Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics
A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VKTX. 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 purchasing an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in Viking Therapeutics by 64.8% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,363 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 536 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd increased 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 acquiring an additional 648 shares during the period. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. lifted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 222,100.0% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 2,222 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 2,221 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Viking Therapeutics Company Profile
(
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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