Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Down 4% – Should You Sell?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)’s share price fell 4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $24.17 and last traded at $24.64. 1,061,747 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 3,890,023 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.68.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.18.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 5.7 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $29.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.22 and a beta of 0.84.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.25) EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan bought 1,240 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $24.15 per share, for a total transaction of $29,946.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,946. This represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $8,314,447.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,366,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,170,867.50. This trade represents a 7.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 299,014 shares of company stock worth $12,782,849 over the last three months. 4.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VKTX. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,464,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 446.7% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,357,241 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $54,615,000 after acquiring an additional 1,108,972 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 228.5% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,479,596 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $59,540,000 after buying an additional 1,029,125 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $24,888,000. Finally, Man Group plc increased its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 3,373.4% in the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 448,732 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $18,057,000 after buying an additional 435,813 shares during the period. 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.