Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Price Down 5% – Time to Sell?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)’s stock price was down 5% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $26.42 and last traded at $26.59. Approximately 1,140,368 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 3,952,332 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.98.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on VKTX shares. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. Maxim Group cut their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $96.00 price objective (down from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.67.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -26.03 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $30.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.14.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.25) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,366,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,170,867.50. This represents a 7.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 165,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,064,822.25. The trade was a 23.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 299,014 shares of company stock worth $12,782,849. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Stone House Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 75.9% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 716 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 309 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. FIL Ltd grew its position in Viking Therapeutics by 116.8% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,203 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 170.2% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 851 shares during the period. 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.