Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Trading Down 0% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) fell 0% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $27.70 and last traded at $28.34. 587,745 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 3,950,086 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.35.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on VKTX. Raymond James lifted their price objective 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. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $96.00 target price (down previously from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.67.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 2.1 %

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $31.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.59. The company has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.95 and a beta of 0.90.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.25) EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $2,317,691.25. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 374,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,994,228.50. The trade was a 12.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $2,150,709.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 165,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,064,822.25. This trade represents a 23.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 299,014 shares of company stock valued at $12,782,849 over the last quarter. 4.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% in the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. S.A. Mason LLC boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,800 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 75.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 716 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 4,980 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 28,929 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,164,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.