Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Price Down 2%

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)’s stock price traded down 2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $64.50 and last traded at $65.17. 911,268 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 5,809,479 shares. The stock had previously closed at $66.47.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VKTX. Truist Financial raised their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $32.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, March 15th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $37.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $112.25.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 1.9 %

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $65.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.27.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.25) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.25). During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.26) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total value of $701,250.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Viking Therapeutics news, CEO Brian Lian sold 269,079 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.87, for a total value of $7,230,152.73. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,184,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,707,779.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 25,000 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total transaction of $701,250.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 329,079 shares of company stock valued at $8,769,653 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Retirement Group LLC grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 75.0% in the second quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 2,100 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the first quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 76.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.