Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $25.35 and last traded at $25.70, with a volume of 7300617 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $28.87.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $96.00 target price (down from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James raised their price target 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. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Maxim Group reduced their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.29.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a PE ratio of -25.70 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $34.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.85.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced 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 last year, the firm earned ($0.25) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $2,150,709.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 165,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,064,822.25. This trade represents a 23.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $8,314,447.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,366,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,170,867.50. This trade represents a 7.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 299,014 shares of company stock worth $12,782,849. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 43.5% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 102,324 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,478,000 after acquiring an additional 31,011 shares during the period. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 88.0% in the third quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 36,666 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,322,000 after purchasing an additional 17,159 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 92.1% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 131,348 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $8,316,000 after purchasing an additional 62,956 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 6.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 715,597 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $45,304,000 after buying an additional 44,122 shares during the period. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 34.1% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 38,143 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,415,000 after buying an additional 9,699 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by 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.