Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Price Down 5.2% - Here's Why

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 5.2% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $20.27 and last traded at $21.44. 1,838,725 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 53% from the average session volume of 3,919,780 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.62.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on VKTX shares. B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $96.00 price objective (down from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James raised 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. Citigroup began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Finally, Maxim Group reduced their price target 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $89.75.

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Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 2.1 %

The company has a market cap of $2.47 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.81 and a beta of 0.84. The firm's 50 day moving average is $27.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.49.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.25) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan bought 1,240 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $24.15 per share, for a total transaction of $29,946.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,946. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,715,000. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 92.1% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 131,348 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $8,316,000 after purchasing an additional 62,956 shares in the last quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 122.4% in the 4th quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 80,602 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,243,000 after purchasing an additional 44,365 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in 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 period. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at $475,000. Institutional investors own 76.03% of the company's stock.

Viking Therapeutics Company Profile

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.