Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Trading Down 1.7% – Here’s What Happened

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) fell 1.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $29.24 and last traded at $29.66. 1,840,867 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 54% from the average session volume of 3,982,418 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.17.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Citigroup started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.92.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $39.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a PE ratio of -29.62 and a beta of 0.90.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.25) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $2,317,691.25. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 374,134 shares in the company, valued at $15,994,228.50. This trade represents a 12.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 165,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,064,822.25. The trade was a 23.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,619,430 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,052,176,000 after acquiring an additional 79,149 shares during the period. Braidwell LP increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 1,156,977 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $73,248,000 after buying an additional 50,072 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 10,775.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,004,033 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $63,565,000 after buying an additional 994,801 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 930,370 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $58,902,000 after buying an additional 143,675 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 728,652 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,321,000 after acquiring an additional 13,055 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.