Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Down 4.8% - Here's Why

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 4.8% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $33.11 and last traded at $33.18. Approximately 1,010,067 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 2,927,458 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.86.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on VKTX. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $74.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $138.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday. B. Riley assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $109.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $106.75.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

The company's 50 day moving average price is $46.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.06. The company has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -35.11 and a beta of 0.95.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.23) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 11,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total value of $889,790.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,500 shares in the company, valued at $768,455. This represents a 53.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,366,570 shares of the company's stock, valued at $101,170,867.50. This trade represents a 7.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 443,701 shares of company stock worth $23,898,520. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 54.7% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 10,085 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $406,000 after purchasing an additional 3,566 shares in the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at $475,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 103.1% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 42,612 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,715,000 after purchasing an additional 21,627 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 177.0% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 23,552 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $948,000 after purchasing an additional 15,049 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Capital Management LLC increased its position in Viking Therapeutics by 89.2% during the fourth quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC now owns 6,542 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 3,085 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently 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.