Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Down 3.4%

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 3.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $70.43 and last traded at $71.11. Approximately 1,104,073 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 5,282,785 shares. The stock had previously closed at $73.64.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Maxim Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Truist Financial raised their target price 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 reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, March 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $110.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $112.25.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $7.98 billion, a P/E ratio of -79.18 and a beta of 1.12. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $73.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.28.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by $0.01. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.25) EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 370.7% in the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 353 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. 9258 Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Viking Therapeutics by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,379 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,015,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the period. LifeSteps Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 125.6% during the first quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,015 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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