Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Trading Down 5.2% – Here’s What Happened

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)’s stock price was down 5.2% on Monday . The company traded as low as $20.27 and last traded at $21.44. Approximately 1,838,725 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 53% from the average daily volume of 3,919,780 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.62.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VKTX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Maxim Group reduced their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $96.00 price objective (down previously from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.18.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.39 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.28 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $29.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.73.

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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.25) earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan acquired 1,240 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $24.15 per share, for a total transaction of $29,946.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,946. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VKTX. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 9,209.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 24,392 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $589,000 after purchasing an additional 24,130 shares during the last quarter. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $604,000. Lighthouse Financial LLC acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $563,000. United Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $234,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 5.1% during the 4th 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

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.