Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Down 1.8% – What’s Next?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)’s stock price fell 1.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $48.22 and last traded at $48.30. 416,359 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 4,437,342 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.21.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on VKTX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price target for the company. B. Riley assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $109.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.75.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 1.8 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $59.67 and a 200 day moving average of $58.50. The firm has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a PE ratio of -50.57 and a beta of 0.88.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.23) EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.97 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director Lawson Macartney sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.67, for a total transaction of $137,340.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 47,965 shares in the company, valued at $3,293,756.55. This represents a 4.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 10,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total value of $715,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $660,250. The trade was a 52.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 371,117 shares of company stock worth $27,140,009 over the last quarter. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Stone House Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 84.3% in the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 553 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by 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.