Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Down 1.2% – What’s Next?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)’s stock price fell 1.2% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $51.04 and last traded at $51.98. 1,323,396 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 4,520,391 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.59.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VKTX has been the subject of several recent research reports. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price target for the company. Finally, B. Riley began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $109.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $109.73.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $63.24 and a 200 day moving average of $59.91. The company has a market capitalization of $6.07 billion, a PE ratio of -57.11 and a beta of 1.00.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.23) EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.98 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, Director Lawson Macartney sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.67, for a total value of $137,340.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 47,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,293,756.55. This represents a 4.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 10,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total transaction of $715,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 9,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $660,250. This trade represents a 52.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 371,117 shares of company stock worth $27,140,009 over the last 90 days. 4.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 296.8% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 15,190 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $962,000 after purchasing an additional 11,362 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth about $240,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 51.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 5,416 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $343,000 after buying an additional 1,836 shares during the period. Second Line Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 34.1% during the 3rd quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 38,118 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,413,000 after buying an additional 9,699 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vestcor Inc purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $741,000. 76.03% of the stock is 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.