Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Gap Down to $55.32

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) shares gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $55.32, but opened at $54.01. Viking Therapeutics shares last traded at $54.88, with a volume of 431,478 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on VKTX shares. StockNews.com raised Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, March 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.56.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 3.2 %

The firm has a market cap of $5.91 billion, a P/E ratio of -58.26 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $63.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.96.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.27) by $0.01. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.25) EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 281,425 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.66, for a total transaction of $22,136,890.50. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 348,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,413,639.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Greg Zante sold 66,756 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.69, for a total value of $4,986,005.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 174,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,059,845.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 281,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.66, for a total transaction of $22,136,890.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 348,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,413,639.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VKTX. Cetera Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at about $239,000. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,889,000. Artal Group S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $20,817,000. Comerica Bank increased its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 28,154.0% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 91,543 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $7,507,000 after purchasing an additional 91,219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Castleark Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $4,566,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

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.