Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Price Down 1.8% – What’s Next?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) was down 1.8% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $24.41 and last traded at $25.24. Approximately 1,724,165 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 4,539,919 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.70.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 6th. B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and set a $96.00 target price (down from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.29.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.09 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $34.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.85.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted 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 last year, the business posted ($0.25) EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,366,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,170,867.50. This trade represents a 7.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the business’s 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 $2,317,691.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 374,134 shares in the company, valued at $15,994,228.50. This trade represents a 12.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 299,014 shares of company stock worth $12,782,849 over the last three months. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VKTX. United Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $234,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 47,547 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,913,000 after buying an additional 2,295 shares in the last quarter. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $170,000. Waverly Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 34.6% in the 4th quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 48,369 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,946,000 after acquiring an additional 12,426 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 46.2% during the 4th quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 93,294 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,754,000 after acquiring an additional 29,475 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.