Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Price Down 2%

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) traded down 2% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $64.50 and last traded at $65.17. 911,268 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 5,809,479 shares. The stock had previously closed at $66.47.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, March 15th. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price target for the company. Finally, Maxim Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, March 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $112.25.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 2.4 %

The company has a market cap of $7.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -70.76 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $64.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.68.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.25) EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.25). During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.26) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total value of $701,250.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Viking Therapeutics news, CEO Brian Lian sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.95, for a total transaction of $838,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,264,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,243,923.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total transaction of $701,250.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 359,079 shares of company stock worth $9,461,153 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 63.6% during the 3rd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 560,180 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $6,201,000 after acquiring an additional 217,827 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 1,557.6% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 371,604 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,916,000 after buying an additional 349,186 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 100.4% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 137,583 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,560,000 after buying an additional 68,921 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 3.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,284,352 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $58,498,000 after buying an additional 171,995 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 924.4% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 82,099 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $909,000 after buying an additional 74,085 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.