Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Down 1% – Should You Sell?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) was down 1% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $29.76 and last traded at $29.78. Approximately 628,826 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 3,958,815 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.07.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on VKTX shares. Scotiabank began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. Maxim Group cut their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. B. Riley reissued 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. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong 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 $97.67.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.66. The company has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.95 and a beta of 0.90.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.25) earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 23.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 374,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,994,228.50. The trade was a 12.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 299,014 shares of company stock worth $12,782,849. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at $206,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 2.7% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 28,251 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,789,000 after buying an additional 748 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $298,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 39.1% during the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,172 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $201,000 after buying an additional 892 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 218.2% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 158,349 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $10,025,000 after buying an additional 108,581 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is 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.