Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Down 4.1%

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)’s stock price fell 4.1% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $57.61 and last traded at $58.74. 1,613,915 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 4,830,604 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.25.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VKTX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $105.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Maxim Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.78.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $55.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.98. The firm has a market cap of $6.41 billion, a PE ratio of -61.82 and a beta of 1.03.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.06. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.19) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Greg Zante sold 66,756 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.69, for a total transaction of $4,986,005.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 174,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,059,845.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO Greg Zante sold 66,756 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.69, for a total value of $4,986,005.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 174,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,059,845.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 281,425 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.66, for a total transaction of $22,136,890.50. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 348,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,413,639.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 42.6% during the 2nd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,232 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $489,000 after acquiring an additional 2,756 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 5.5% in the second quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 7,457 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 26.6% during the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 456,799 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $24,215,000 after purchasing an additional 95,960 shares during the last quarter. F M Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the second quarter worth $2,164,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Viking Therapeutics by 20.4% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 22,177 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,176,000 after buying an additional 3,755 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.