Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Gap Down to $78.01

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $78.01, but opened at $76.26. Viking Therapeutics shares last traded at $74.90, with a volume of 1,055,818 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on VKTX shares. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Maxim Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, March 15th. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com raised Viking Therapeutics to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $112.38.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $7.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -74.26 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a fifty day moving average of $72.37 and a 200-day moving average of $41.62.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.27) by $0.01. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.25) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CFO Greg Zante sold 66,756 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.69, for a total value of $4,986,005.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 174,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,059,845.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Greg Zante sold 66,756 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.69, for a total transaction of $4,986,005.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 174,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,059,845.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 281,425 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.66, for a total transaction of $22,136,890.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 348,508 shares in the company, valued at $27,413,639.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 4.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its position in Viking Therapeutics by 63.6% in the 3rd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 560,180 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $6,201,000 after purchasing an additional 217,827 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 1,557.6% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 371,604 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $6,916,000 after buying an additional 349,186 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 100.4% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 137,583 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,560,000 after acquiring an additional 68,921 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,284,352 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $58,498,000 after acquiring an additional 171,995 shares during the period. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $148,000. Institutional investors 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.