Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Trading Down 9% – Here’s Why

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)’s stock price dropped 9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $24.44 and last traded at $25.44. Approximately 3,862,980 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 4% from the average daily volume of 4,018,363 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.96.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VKTX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.31.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.98 billion, a P/E ratio of -26.51 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.60.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.25) earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $2,317,691.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 374,134 shares in the company, valued at $15,994,228.50. This represents a 12.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were 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 owns 2,366,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,170,867.50. The trade was a 7.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 299,014 shares of company stock worth $12,782,849. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Stone House Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% in the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. S.A. Mason LLC lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,800 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 75.9% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 716 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 309 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 4,980 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 28,929 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,164,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.