Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Gap Down - What's Next?

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.

Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on VKTX shares. Raymond James Financial lowered their price objective 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. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 target price (down from $95.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, April 28th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Viking Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $86.92.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 1.3%

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.99 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $31.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.64.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Greg Zante sold 4,266 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.76, for a total transaction of $118,424.16. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 168,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,682,001.60. The trade was a 2.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 26,889 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.80, for a total transaction of $747,514.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,388,014 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,386,789.20. The trade was a 1.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,421 shares of company stock valued at $984,405. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VKTX. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 92,556 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,723,000 after buying an additional 9,825 shares during the period. Mariner LLC raised its position in Viking Therapeutics by 40.5% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 14,426 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $580,000 after purchasing an additional 4,161 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in Viking Therapeutics by 108.5% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,068 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 1,076 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Viking Therapeutics by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 20,114 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $809,000 after purchasing an additional 2,256 shares during the period. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC raised its position in Viking Therapeutics by 45.8% in the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 29,673 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,194,000 after purchasing an additional 9,321 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.