Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Down 0.6% – Here’s Why

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) shares dropped 0.6% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $29.10 and last traded at $29.27. Approximately 643,083 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 3,965,934 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.46.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VKTX. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $96.00 price objective (down previously from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Raymond James raised their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.67.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $3.18 billion, a PE ratio of -28.31 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s fifty day moving average is $31.24 and its 200-day moving average is $47.91.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.25) earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Viking Therapeutics news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the business’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 value of $2,317,691.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 374,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,994,228.50. The trade was a 12.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 165,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,064,822.25. This trade represents a 23.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 299,014 shares of company stock worth $12,782,849 over the last ninety days. 4.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,464,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 446.7% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,357,241 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $54,615,000 after buying an additional 1,108,972 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 228.5% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,479,596 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $59,540,000 after buying an additional 1,029,125 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $24,888,000. Finally, Man Group plc boosted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 3,373.4% during the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 448,732 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $18,057,000 after acquiring an additional 435,813 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

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.