Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) CFO Sells $2,150,709.75 in Stock

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $2,150,709.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 165,259 shares in the company, valued at $7,064,822.25. This trade represents a 23.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Greg Zante also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, October 28th, Greg Zante sold 131,687 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.61, for a total value of $10,088,541.07.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 2.5 %

VKTX opened at $40.60 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $50.68 and its 200 day moving average is $56.75. The company has a market cap of $4.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.66 and a beta of 0.95. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $19.15 and a 12-month high of $99.41.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on VKTX shares. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 price objective for the company. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, B. Riley initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $109.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $106.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% during the 3rd 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 position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $32,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased 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 worth $35,000 after buying an additional 253 shares in 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.