Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Trading Down 3.4% – Time to Sell?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) traded down 3.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $27.55 and last traded at $28.20. 2,299,423 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 49% from the average session volume of 4,521,563 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.20.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VKTX. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Maxim Group lowered their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $96.00 target price (down from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.29.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 3.4 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $35.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.89. The firm has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.35 and a beta of 0.90.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.25) EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction 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 $7,064,822.25. This represents a 23.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $2,317,691.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 374,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,994,228.50. This trade represents a 12.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 299,014 shares of company stock worth $12,782,849 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $26,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% in the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. FIL Ltd boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 116.8% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,203 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 170.2% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 851 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.