Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Down 2.2%

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) shares traded down 2.2% on Friday . The company traded as low as $68.90 and last traded at $69.30. 643,732 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 6,007,448 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.87.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Maxim Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $120.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $37.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, March 15th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $112.25.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 3.2 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $60.80 and a 200-day moving average of $30.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -74.59 and a beta of 1.05.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.25). During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.26) earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 269,079 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.87, for a total value of $7,230,152.73. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,184,882 shares in the company, valued at $58,707,779.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total transaction of $701,250.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 269,079 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.87, for a total value of $7,230,152.73. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,184,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at $58,707,779.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 359,079 shares of company stock valued at $9,461,153 over the last ninety days. 4.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Retirement Group LLC grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 75.0% in the 2nd quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 2,100 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 66.5% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,346 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares during the period. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $63,000. 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.