Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Trading Down 3.5% on Insider Selling

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)’s stock price was down 3.5% during mid-day trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $73.69 and last traded at $74.27. Approximately 1,478,583 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 5,420,153 shares. The stock had previously closed at $76.97.

Specifically, COO Marianna Mancini sold 281,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.66, for a total value of $22,136,890.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 348,508 shares in the company, valued at $27,413,639.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total transaction of $701,250.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 281,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.66, for a total value of $22,136,890.50. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 348,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,413,639.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 642,260 shares of company stock valued at $35,054,299 in the last three months. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on VKTX shares. BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $32.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com upgraded Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Maxim Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $112.25.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $8.78 billion, a PE ratio of -85.60 and a beta of 1.12. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $73.88 and its 200-day moving average is $38.86.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by $0.01. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.25) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 63.6% during the 3rd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 560,180 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,201,000 after purchasing an additional 217,827 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 1,557.6% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 371,604 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $6,916,000 after buying an additional 349,186 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 100.4% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 137,583 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,560,000 after buying an additional 68,921 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,284,352 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $58,498,000 after acquiring an additional 171,995 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $148,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.