Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Price Down 0.7% – What’s Next?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)’s share price dropped 0.7% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $64.70 and last traded at $65.31. Approximately 298,768 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 93% from the average daily volume of 4,354,452 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.80.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VKTX. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $138.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $108.60.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 1.9 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $7.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -70.47 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $62.29 and its 200 day moving average is $62.14.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.06. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.19) earnings per share. Analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Brian Lian sold 115,859 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.58, for a total value of $6,671,161.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,354,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $135,596,696.66. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 5,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.72, for a total transaction of $397,404.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $662,340. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 115,859 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.58, for a total transaction of $6,671,161.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,354,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $135,596,696.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 516,671 shares of company stock valued at $33,810,813. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 17.8% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 6,059 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 915 shares during the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 8.8% during the third quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,190 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $455,000 after buying an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its position in Viking Therapeutics by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 16,955 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,074,000 after buying an additional 1,202 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 320.3% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 69,503 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,400,000 after acquiring an additional 52,968 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Morris Harris LLC bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at $317,000. 76.03% of the stock is owned by 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.