Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Down 0.9% After Insider Selling

Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) traded down 0.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $63.51 and last traded at $64.15. 578,291 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 4,693,678 shares. The stock had previously closed at $64.76.

Specifically, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 5,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.72, for a total value of $397,404.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,500 shares in the company, valued at $662,340. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.90, for a total transaction of $69,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,354,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $164,609,397.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In related news, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 16,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.22, for a total value of $995,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $591,090. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com raised Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. Finally, Maxim Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.78.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $7.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -69.31 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a fifty day moving average of $54.98 and a 200 day moving average of $60.92.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.06. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.19) EPS. On average, analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.99 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 370.7% during the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 353 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. 9258 Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 2.9% during the first quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,379 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,015,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 3.1% in the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 12,278 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $651,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the period. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 5.5% in the second quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 7,457 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $395,000 after buying an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

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.