Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Hits New 12-Month Low – What’s Next?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $25.35 and last traded at $25.70, with a volume of 7300617 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $28.87.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on VKTX shares. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. Maxim Group cut their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $97.29.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 11.0 %

The stock has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a PE ratio of -25.70 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $34.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.85.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) EPS 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. On average, equities analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $2,150,709.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 165,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,064,822.25. The trade was a 23.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $8,314,447.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,366,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,170,867.50. The trade was a 7.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 299,014 shares of company stock worth $12,782,849. 4.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VKTX. United Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $234,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 47,547 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,913,000 after buying an additional 2,295 shares in the last quarter. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at $170,000. Waverly Advisors LLC grew its position in Viking Therapeutics by 34.6% during the fourth quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 48,369 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,946,000 after buying an additional 12,426 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 93,294 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,754,000 after acquiring an additional 29,475 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.