Insider Selling: Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) COO Sells 54,215 Shares of Stock

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $2,317,691.25. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 374,134 shares in the company, valued at $15,994,228.50. This represents a 12.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 0.8 %

Viking Therapeutics stock traded down $0.36 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $42.53. The company had a trading volume of 2,734,366 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,071,149. The stock has a market cap of $4.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -45.73 and a beta of 0.95. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.14 and a 1 year high of $99.41. The business has a fifty day moving average of $51.93 and a 200 day moving average of $56.95.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.23) EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VKTX. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% during the third 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 last quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its position in Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 84.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 553 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on VKTX. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $138.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. 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 target on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.75.

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.