Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Trading Down 2% - Here's What Happened

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) shares fell 2% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $29.52 and last traded at $29.87. 903,330 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 3,903,847 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.48.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on VKTX. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Maxim Group decreased their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $97.29.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 7.7 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.80 billion, a PE ratio of -34.07 and a beta of 0.90. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $36.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.20.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.25) EPS. Analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $2,317,691.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 374,134 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,994,228.50. The trade was a 12.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 165,259 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,064,822.25. The trade was a 23.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 299,014 shares of company stock valued at $12,782,849. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VKTX. Blue Trust Inc. bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. FIL Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 116.8% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,203 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 170.2% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.03% of the company's stock.

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.