Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Down 3.7%

Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) dropped 3.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $60.75 and last traded at $60.95. Approximately 852,576 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 4,462,607 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.31.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VKTX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Raymond James raised their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $138.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Maxim Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $108.60.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 2.4 %

The company has a market capitalization of $6.82 billion, a PE ratio of -65.54 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s fifty day moving average is $60.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.76.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.06. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.19) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.90, for a total value of $69,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,354,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $164,609,397.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Viking Therapeutics news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 18,026 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.13, for a total transaction of $1,029,825.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 362,149 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,689,572.37. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.90, for a total transaction of $69,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,354,927 shares in the company, valued at $164,609,397.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 516,671 shares of company stock valued at $33,810,813 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 370.7% during the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 353 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 140.8% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 802 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.