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

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)’s stock price traded down 2% during trading on Thursday . The company 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VKTX. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $32.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Maxim Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $37.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $112.25.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 1.9 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $65.62 and a 200 day moving average of $33.27.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its earnings results 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 company earned ($0.26) earnings per share. Analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.95, for a total value of $838,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,264,882 shares in the company, valued at $54,243,923.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 25,000 shares of the 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.95, for a total transaction of $838,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,264,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,243,923.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 329,079 shares of company stock worth $8,769,653 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 166,500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $500,000 after buying an additional 11,200 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 20.5% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 32,893 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 5,606 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 26.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 325,748 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $977,000 after buying an additional 67,835 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,147,461 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $15,442,000 after buying an additional 27,971 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 29.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,375,485 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,126,000 after acquiring an additional 312,377 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by 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.