Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Down 2.3% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Viking Therapeutics' stock price declined by 2.3% on Tuesday, closing at $31.54 after trading as low as $31.33, with a trading volume of 5,140,542 shares.
• Research analysts have mixed ratings on the stock, with two calling it a Strong Buy and a price target range between $31.00 and $125.00, while Weiss Ratings maintains a "sell" rating.
• The biotechnology company reported an EPS of ($0.58) for the last quarter, missing estimates, and is forecasted to achieve -1.56 EPS for the current year.

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 2.3% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $31.33 and last traded at $31.54. 5,140,542 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 6% from the average session volume of 4,851,534 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.28.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on VKTX shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell 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 $86.42.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

The company's 50 day simple moving average is $29.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.93. The company has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a PE ratio of -20.61 and a beta of 0.64.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.58) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by ($0.14). The company's revenue was up NaN% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.20) EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. PVG Asset Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. PVG Asset Management Corp now owns 11,258 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $298,000 after purchasing an additional 2,205 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $969,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the second quarter worth approximately $132,000. Marex Group plc acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at $983,000. Finally, MASO CAPITAL PARTNERS Ltd purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at $398,000. 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.

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