Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Price Down 1.2% – Should You Sell?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)’s stock price traded down 1.2% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $29.16 and last traded at $29.61. 758,978 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 3,973,510 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.96.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on VKTX shares. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com raised Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.92.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $39.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -29.22 and a beta of 0.90.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.25) earnings per share. Analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $2,150,709.75. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 165,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,064,822.25. The trade was a 23.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $8,314,447.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,366,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,170,867.50. The trade was a 7.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 299,014 shares of company stock valued at $12,782,849. 4.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by 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.