Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Trading Down 3.1% – Time to Sell?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)’s share price fell 3.1% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $57.91 and last traded at $58.74. 1,398,657 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 6,137,914 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.60.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VKTX. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $138.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Raymond James upped their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $109.80.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 2.7 %

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.60.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.23) earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Brian Lian sold 112,870 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.80, for a total value of $7,426,846.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,354,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $154,954,196.60. This trade represents a 4.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 16,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.22, for a total value of $995,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $591,090. The trade was a 62.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 506,687 shares of company stock worth $36,029,679. 4.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 168,600 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $13,825,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 77.7% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 45,809 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,756,000 after acquiring an additional 20,023 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 195.9% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 6,942 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $569,000 after acquiring an additional 4,596 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $377,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 15.6% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 18,402 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,509,000 after purchasing an additional 2,487 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.