Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Trading Down 3.4% – Here’s What Happened

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) was down 3.4% on Friday . The company traded as low as $32.76 and last traded at $33.54. Approximately 4,036,822 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 17% from the average daily volume of 4,859,025 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.73.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $3.77 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.92 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.39.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.58) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.44) by ($0.14). During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.20) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up NaN% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Viking Therapeutics by 58.4% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the period. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 1,621.4% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,205 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,135 shares during the period. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 33.4% during the 2nd 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. Institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

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.