Insider Selling: Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) CEO Sells 233,409 Shares of Stock

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) CEO Brian Lian sold 233,409 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.96, for a total transaction of $7,693,160.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,499,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $82,376,631.36. The trade was a 8.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Brian Lian also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, October 28th, Brian Lian sold 38,989 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.01, for a total transaction of $1,365,004.89.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 9.3%

VKTX stock traded down $3.28 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $32.14. The company had a trading volume of 8,255,722 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,999,261. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $18.92 and a one year high of $43.55. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.16 and a beta of 0.71.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.81) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.67) by ($0.14). During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.22) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VKTX. CNB Bank raised its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 5.1% during the third quarter. CNB Bank now owns 5,756 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $151,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 14,961 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $396,000 after buying an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 58.4% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 6.1% during the second quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 6,220 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $165,000 after buying an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lewis Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 0.9% during the second quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC now owns 44,060 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,168,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, September 22nd. B. Riley upgraded Viking Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.14.

Viking Therapeutics Company Profile

Viking Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders. Headquartered in San Diego, California, the company’s pipeline leverages small-molecule approaches to target hormone signaling pathways implicated in conditions such as non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes and muscle wasting disorders.

The company’s lead programs include VK2809, a thyroid hormone receptor‐beta agonist designed to reduce liver fat and improve lipid profiles in patients with NASH and dyslipidemia, and VK5211, a selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) aimed at enhancing muscle mass and function in individuals with muscle wasting conditions.