Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $27.96, but opened at $26.26. Viking Therapeutics shares last traded at $25.49, with a volume of 1,687,139 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VKTX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James increased their price target 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. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Maxim Group reduced their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.31.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 11.4 %

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $32.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.20. The company has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -29.55 and a beta of 0.90.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.25) EPS. Research analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 165,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,064,822.25. This trade represents a 23.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of Viking Therapeutics 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 374,134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,994,228.50. This trade represents a 12.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 299,014 shares of company stock valued at $12,782,849. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Stone House Investment Management LLC increased 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 valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 75.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 716 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. FIL Ltd lifted its position 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 worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position 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 worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 851 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.