Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $33.50, but opened at $31.02. Viking Therapeutics shares last traded at $31.68, with a volume of 1,470,441 shares.

The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.25) earnings per share.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VKTX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday. B. Riley began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $109.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $106.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $8,314,447.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,366,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,170,867.50. The trade was a 7.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $2,150,709.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 165,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,064,822.25. This represents a 23.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 301,014 shares of company stock valued at $12,920,189. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VKTX. Blue Trust Inc. bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $32,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% in the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.71 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.17.

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.