Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Down 4% After Insider Selling

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)’s share price was down 4% during trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $74.78 and last traded at $74.89. Approximately 5,157,055 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 18% from the average daily volume of 4,377,807 shares. The stock had previously closed at $78.03.

Specifically, CFO Greg Zante sold 131,687 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.61, for a total transaction of $10,088,541.07. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 149,366 shares in the company, valued at $11,442,929.26. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total transaction of $889,790.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,500 shares in the company, valued at $768,455. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $138.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued 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 assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $108.60.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $8.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -78.87 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.67.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its 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 prior year, the business posted ($0.23) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 84.3% during the third 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 during the period. Institutional investors 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.