Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Down 0%

Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) dropped 0% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $67.30 and last traded at $67.94. Approximately 554,093 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 5,856,821 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.95.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VKTX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Maxim Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $32.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, March 15th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. 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 a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $112.25.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 2.2 %

The firm has a market cap of $7.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -72.25 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $64.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.68.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Brian Lian sold 35,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.95, for a total value of $838,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,264,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $54,243,923.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 35,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.95, for a total value of $838,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,264,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $54,243,923.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total value of $701,250.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 359,079 shares of company stock valued at $9,461,153 in the last quarter. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VKTX. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Retirement Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 75.0% during the second quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 2,100 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 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.