Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Price Down 0.8% – Here’s Why

Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) fell 0.8% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $27.96 and last traded at $28.45. 565,483 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 4,509,280 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.68.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on VKTX shares. Maxim Group reduced their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $97.29.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $33.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.76 and a beta of 0.90.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (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. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 374,134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,994,228.50. This represents a 12.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of the business’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 $8,314,447.50. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 299,014 shares of company stock worth $12,782,849. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

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