Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Price Down 0.8% After Insider Selling

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)’s stock price fell 0.8% during mid-day trading on Friday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $68.11 and last traded at $68.28. 895,942 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 4,491,430 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.85.

Specifically, Director Lawson Macartney sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.67, for a total transaction of $137,340.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 47,965 shares in the company, valued at $3,293,756.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on VKTX. StockNews.com raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. HC Wainwright upped their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $90.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $109.80.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 0.5 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $7.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -73.63 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.87.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.23) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VKTX. Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake 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 worth $28,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its position 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 valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

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.