Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Gap Down - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) shares gapped down from a closing price of $42.09 to open at $26.00, with a last traded price of $23.90 and significant trading volume of 28,308,941 shares.
• Despite recent price drops, VKTX holds an average analyst rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.92, with multiple upgrades and downgrades from firms like Raymond James and Citigroup.
• The biotechnology company reported quarterly earnings of ($0.58) per share, falling short of expectations of ($0.44), while also indicating a notable increase in quarterly revenue compared to the same period last year.

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $42.09, but opened at $26.00. Viking Therapeutics shares last traded at $23.90, with a volume of 28,308,941 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VKTX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Citigroup upped 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. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Viking Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.92.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.73 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $31.39 and a 200-day moving average of $28.81.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 4,266 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.77, for a total transaction of $118,466.82. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 377,535 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,484,146.95. This represents a 1.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 4,266 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.76, for a total value of $118,424.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 168,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,682,001.60. This represents a 2.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,421 shares of company stock valued at $984,405 over the last 90 days. 4.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 14,961 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Viking Therapeutics by 58.4% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. grew its position in Viking Therapeutics by 6.1% in the second quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 6,220 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $165,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC grew its position in Viking Therapeutics by 0.9% in the second quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC now owns 44,060 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,168,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighMark Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Viking Therapeutics by 9.4% in the first quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,660 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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