Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Down 5.6% – Time to Sell?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)’s stock price was down 5.6% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $59.33 and last traded at $59.42. Approximately 1,764,845 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 61% from the average daily volume of 4,492,938 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.97.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VKTX has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $90.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James upped their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.80.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 2.7 %

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.97 billion, a PE ratio of -58.61 and a beta of 1.00.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.23) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total transaction of $889,790.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,500 shares in the company, valued at $768,455. This represents a 53.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Lawson Macartney sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.67, for a total value of $137,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 47,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,293,756.55. This represents a 4.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 506,687 shares of company stock valued at $36,029,679 over the last 90 days. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Stone House Investment Management LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.