Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Down 3.7%

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) shares were down 3.7% on Tuesday . The stock 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 Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on VKTX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $138.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, June 17th. One 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, Viking Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $108.60.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 2.4 %

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $60.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.76. The firm has a market cap of $6.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -65.54 and a beta of 1.00.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.06. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.19) earnings per share. Analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 10,300 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total transaction of $715,850.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $660,250. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Viking Therapeutics news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 18,026 shares of Viking Therapeutics 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 362,149 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,689,572.37. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 10,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total transaction of $715,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,500 shares in the company, valued at $660,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 516,671 shares of company stock worth $33,810,813. 4.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,381,904 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $100,157,000 after buying an additional 97,552 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 70.6% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,518 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 628 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,422,000. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 32.4% during the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,274,945 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $23,727,000 after buying an additional 311,681 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Owl Capital Holdings LP acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,036,000. 76.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.