Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Down 5.6% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) were down 5.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $23.35 and last traded at $23.20. Approximately 1,122,666 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 3,997,229 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.57.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on VKTX. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $102.00 target price for the company. Maxim Group decreased their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 2.1 %

The company has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.60 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $27.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.54.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its quarterly 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.25) EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan bought 1,240 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $24.15 per share, with a total value of $29,946.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,240 shares in the company, valued at $29,946. This trade represents a ∞ increase 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. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $51,464,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 446.7% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,357,241 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $54,615,000 after purchasing an additional 1,108,972 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Viking Therapeutics by 228.5% during the 4th 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. acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $24,888,000. Finally, Man Group plc grew its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 3,373.4% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.