Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Down 1.9% – What’s Next?

Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) fell 1.9% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $52.95 and last traded at $53.45. 546,075 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 4,505,049 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.51.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $138.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, September 12th. StockNews.com upgraded Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, B. Riley assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $109.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $109.73.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 2.9 %

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.90 billion, a P/E ratio of -56.92 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CFO Greg Zante sold 131,687 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.61, for a total value of $10,088,541.07. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 149,366 shares in the company, valued at $11,442,929.26. The trade was a 46.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 216,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.83, for a total value of $15,308,487.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,304,927 shares in the company, valued at $163,257,979.41. This represents a 8.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 371,117 shares of company stock valued at $27,140,009. 4.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter worth about $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% during the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter worth $32,000. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by 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.