Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Down 0.7%

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)’s stock price traded down 0.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $62.64 and last traded at $63.00. 435,885 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 5,724,566 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.42.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial upped their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $32.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Maxim Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, March 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $112.25.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 1.7 %

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $66.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.33.

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 the consensus estimate of ($0.25). During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.26) EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 63.6% during the 3rd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 560,180 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $6,201,000 after acquiring an additional 217,827 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 1,557.6% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 371,604 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $6,916,000 after purchasing an additional 349,186 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 100.4% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 137,583 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,560,000 after buying an additional 68,921 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,284,352 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $58,498,000 after buying an additional 171,995 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 924.4% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 82,099 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $909,000 after buying an additional 74,085 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.