Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Trading Down 0.4%

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) traded down 0.4% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $67.66 and last traded at $68.34. 571,169 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 5,961,819 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.62.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Raymond James lifted their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $37.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, March 15th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $32.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.25.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 1.5 %

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $63.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.44. The company has a market cap of $7.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -73.86 and a beta of 1.05.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.25). During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.26) earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 30,000 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.05, for a total value of $691,500.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 269,079 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.87, for a total transaction of $7,230,152.73. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,184,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,707,779.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.05, for a total value of $691,500.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 359,079 shares of company stock worth $9,461,153. Insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VKTX. Swiss National Bank grew its position in Viking Therapeutics by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 166,500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $500,000 after acquiring an additional 11,200 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 20.5% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 32,893 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 5,606 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 26.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 325,748 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $977,000 after buying an additional 67,835 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,147,461 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $15,442,000 after buying an additional 27,971 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 29.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,375,485 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,126,000 after buying an additional 312,377 shares during the last quarter. 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.