Greg Zante Sells 50,309 Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $2,150,709.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 165,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,064,822.25. This represents a 23.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Greg Zante also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, October 28th, Greg Zante sold 131,687 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.61, for a total transaction of $10,088,541.07.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 2.0 %

NASDAQ VKTX opened at $41.66 on Wednesday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.14 and a 52 week high of $99.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $51.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.64 billion, a PE ratio of -44.80 and a beta of 0.95.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.23) EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Oak Ridge Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter worth approximately $837,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 43.5% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 102,324 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,478,000 after purchasing an additional 31,011 shares in the last quarter. Nvwm LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $999,000. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 88.0% in the 3rd quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 36,666 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,322,000 after buying an additional 17,159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 92.1% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 131,348 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $8,316,000 after buying an additional 62,956 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. B. Riley began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $109.00 price target on the stock. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently 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.