Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Down 2.2%

Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) traded down 2.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $62.65 and last traded at $63.26. 614,230 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 5,759,688 shares. The stock had previously closed at $64.67.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, March 15th. StockNews.com upgraded Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Maxim Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, March 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.25.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $64.97 and a 200 day moving average of $32.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -68.76 and a beta of 1.05.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.25). During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.26) EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total transaction of $701,250.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total value of $701,250.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 269,079 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.87, for a total value of $7,230,152.73. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,184,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,707,779.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 329,079 shares of company stock valued at $8,769,653. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Retirement Group LLC raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 75.0% during the 2nd quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 2,100 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 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.