Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $33.50, but opened at $31.02. Viking Therapeutics shares last traded at $31.68, with a volume of 1,470,441 shares.

The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.25) earnings per share.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VKTX. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. B. Riley began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $109.00 price target on the stock. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $106.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $2,317,691.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 374,134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,994,228.50. The trade was a 12.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Lawson Macartney sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.67, for a total value of $137,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 47,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,293,756.55. This trade represents a 4.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 301,014 shares of company stock valued at $12,920,189. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $32,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% in the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average is $40.92 and its 200 day moving average is $54.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -34.71 and a beta of 0.90.

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.