Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Down 2.1% After Insider Selling

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)’s share price was down 2.1% on Thursday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $73.41 and last traded at $74.85. Approximately 661,352 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 5,469,581 shares. The stock had previously closed at $76.43.

Specifically, COO Marianna Mancini sold 281,425 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 348,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,413,639.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, 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 transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total value of $701,250.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 642,260 shares of company stock worth $35,054,299 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, March 15th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. BTIG Research raised their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $32.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $112.25.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.49 billion, a PE ratio of -82.76 and a beta of 1.12.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.27) by $0.01. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.25) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 924.4% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 82,099 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $909,000 after buying an additional 74,085 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 33.1% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 16,639 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $184,000 after buying an additional 4,136 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Viking Therapeutics by 15.8% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 137,569 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,566,000 after acquiring an additional 18,811 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 43.4% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 27,647 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $306,000 after acquiring an additional 8,372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 270.1% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,048 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $122,000 after acquiring an additional 8,063 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.