Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Price Down 0%

Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) traded down 0% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $67.30 and last traded at $67.94. 554,093 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 5,856,821 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.95.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Maxim Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, March 15th. BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $32.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $112.25.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 0.2 %

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $63.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -73.85 and a beta of 1.05.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.25). During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.26) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total value of $701,250.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 269,079 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.87, for a total transaction of $7,230,152.73. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,184,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,707,779.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total transaction of $701,250.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 359,079 shares of company stock worth $9,461,153 over the last three months. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Retirement Group LLC lifted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 75.0% in the 2nd quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 2,100 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.