Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Down 4.8% – Here’s Why

Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) were down 4.8% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $33.11 and last traded at $33.18. Approximately 1,010,067 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 2,927,458 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.86.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on VKTX shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday. B. Riley assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $109.00 target price for the company. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.75.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a PE ratio of -35.11 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $46.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.99.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.23) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $8,314,447.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,366,570 shares in the company, valued at $101,170,867.50. This trade represents a 7.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $2,150,709.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 165,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,064,822.25. This represents a 23.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 443,701 shares of company stock worth $23,898,520. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Oak Ridge Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $837,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 43.5% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 102,324 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $6,478,000 after buying an additional 31,011 shares during the last quarter. Nvwm LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $999,000. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 88.0% during the third quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 36,666 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,322,000 after acquiring an additional 17,159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 92.1% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 131,348 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $8,316,000 after acquiring an additional 62,956 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

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.