Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) CEO Brian Lian Sells 194,490 Shares

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $8,314,447.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,366,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,170,867.50. This trade represents a 7.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of VKTX traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $42.53. The stock had a trading volume of 2,734,366 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,071,149. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -45.73 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $51.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.95. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.14 and a fifty-two week high of $99.41.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 84.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 553 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $138.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com raised Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. B. Riley began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $109.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $106.75.

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.