Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Gap Down to $55.32

Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $55.32, but opened at $54.01. Viking Therapeutics shares last traded at $54.88, with a volume of 431,478 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, June 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, June 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.56.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $5.91 billion, a P/E ratio of -58.26 and a beta of 1.03. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $63.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.96.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by $0.01. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.25) EPS. Analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Greg Zante sold 66,756 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.69, for a total transaction of $4,986,005.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 174,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,059,845.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 281,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.66, for a total transaction of $22,136,890.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 348,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,413,639.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 66,756 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.69, for a total transaction of $4,986,005.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 174,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,059,845.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VKTX. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 370.7% during the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 353 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. LifeSteps Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth $61,000. 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.