Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Hits New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $23.27 and last traded at $23.84, with a volume of 751035 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.65.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. Maxim Group dropped their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $96.00 price objective (down from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.18.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.68 billion, a PE ratio of -23.94 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.50.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 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 $2,317,691.25. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 374,134 shares in the company, valued at $15,994,228.50. The trade was a 12.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 165,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,064,822.25. The trade was a 23.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 299,014 shares of company stock valued at $12,782,849. Insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VKTX. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $51,464,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 446.7% in the fourth 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. lifted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 228.5% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,479,596 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $59,540,000 after acquiring an additional 1,029,125 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at $24,888,000. Finally, Man Group plc increased its position in Viking Therapeutics by 3,373.4% during the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 448,732 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $18,057,000 after purchasing an additional 435,813 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

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.