Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Down 0.5% – Should You Sell?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)’s share price fell 0.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $22.52 and last traded at $23.00. 680,963 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 4,001,895 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.11.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on VKTX. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $96.00 target price (down previously from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.67. The stock has a market cap of $2.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.14 and a beta of 0.84.

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

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Blue Trust Inc. raised 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 purchasing an additional 309 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 64.8% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,363 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 536 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 116.8% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,203 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 648 shares during the period. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 222,100.0% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 2,222 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 2,221 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.