Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Price Down 3.1% – What’s Next?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)’s share price was down 3.1% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $57.91 and last traded at $58.74. Approximately 1,398,657 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 6,137,914 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.60.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VKTX has been the subject of several recent research reports. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, HC Wainwright increased their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $90.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $109.80.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 2.7 %

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $64.69 and its 200-day moving average is $61.60.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.23) EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Greg Zante sold 131,687 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.61, for a total transaction of $10,088,541.07. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 149,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,442,929.26. The trade was a 46.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 1,000 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.90, for a total transaction of $69,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,354,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $164,609,397.30. This trade represents a 0.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 506,687 shares of company stock worth $36,029,679 in the last three months. 4.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VKTX. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth $294,380,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 44.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,785,724 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $638,429,000 after purchasing an additional 2,403,820 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 10,775.6% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,004,033 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $63,565,000 after buying an additional 994,801 shares during the period. Hood River Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at approximately $55,098,000. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the first quarter worth $54,295,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.