Insider Selling: Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) CEO Sells 194,490 Shares of Stock

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $8,314,447.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,366,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,170,867.50. This trade represents a 7.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VKTX opened at $42.53 on Tuesday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.14 and a 52-week high of $99.41. The stock has a market cap of $4.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -45.73 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $51.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.95.

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. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in 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. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% during the 3rd 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 period. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 84.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 553 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on VKTX. B. Riley initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $109.00 price target for the company. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $138.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.75.

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.