Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Trading Down 4.7% – Time to Sell?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) was down 4.7% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $27.15 and last traded at $27.11. Approximately 436,886 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 4,079,641 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.43.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on VKTX. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target (down previously from $95.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and set a $96.00 price objective (down from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.15.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 4.3%

The firm has a market cap of $3.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.67 and a beta of 0.75. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $26.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.74.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.31) by ($0.10). During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.26) EPS. The company’s revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan purchased 1,240 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $24.15 per share, with a total value of $29,946.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,946. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VKTX. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Viking Therapeutics by 75.9% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 716 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. FIL Ltd lifted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 116.8% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,203 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 1,621.4% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,205 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 1,135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 170.2% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. 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.