Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Down 5.8% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Viking Therapeutics shares dropped 5.8% to $25.09, marking a significant decline in trading volume compared to recent averages.
• Analysts remain optimistic, with HC Wainwright and BTIG Research maintaining "buy" ratings and high price targets ranging from $102 to $125.
• The company recently reported an earnings miss for the last quarter, with an EPS of ($0.58), falling short of the consensus estimate by ($0.14).

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 5.8% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $25.06 and last traded at $25.09. 4,314,892 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 11% from the average session volume of 4,851,983 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.63.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $86.42.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.40 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $30.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.04.

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

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, CFO Greg Zante sold 4,266 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.76, for a total value of $118,424.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 168,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,682,001.60. This trade represents a 2.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 26,889 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.80, for a total value of $747,514.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,388,014 shares of the company's stock, valued at $66,386,789.20. The trade was a 1.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 35,421 shares of company stock worth $984,405 in the last three months. 4.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 58.4% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 1,621.4% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,205 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 1,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 64.8% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,363 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 536 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company's stock.

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.

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