Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Price Down 1.9% – Should You Sell?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)’s share price fell 1.9% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $52.95 and last traded at $53.45. 546,075 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 4,505,049 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.51.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VKTX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. B. Riley initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $109.00 price target on the stock. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $138.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.73.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 2.0 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -57.47 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $62.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.83.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.23) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, Director Lawson Macartney sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was 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 directly owns 47,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,293,756.55. This represents a 4.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 216,130 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.83, for a total value of $15,308,487.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,304,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $163,257,979.41. The trade was a 8.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 371,117 shares of company stock valued at $27,140,009 over the last three months. 4.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% during the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.