Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Viking Therapeutics shares gapped down from a closing price of $34.73 to open at $32.90 before trading at $33.53.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on the stock, with two strong-buy ratings and a consensus price target of $86.42, while one rating remains a sell.
• The biotechnology company reported an EPS of (0.58) in its last quarterly earnings, missing the consensus estimate and indicating a decline from the previous year's performance.

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) shares gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $34.73, but opened at $32.90. Viking Therapeutics shares last traded at $33.53, with a volume of 1,146,001 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VKTX. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Citigroup increased their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.42.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $3.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.96 and a beta of 0.64. The stock's fifty day moving average is $29.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.30.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up NaN% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.20) EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 58.4% in the 2nd 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 period. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Quarry LP raised its position in Viking Therapeutics by 1,621.4% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,205 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,135 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 33.4% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,818 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is 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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