Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) CEO Sells $6,671,161.22 in Stock

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) CEO Brian Lian sold 115,859 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.58, for a total value of $6,671,161.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,354,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $135,596,696.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of Viking Therapeutics stock opened at $53.05 on Friday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $8.28 and a 12 month high of $99.41. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.43. The stock has a market cap of $5.85 billion, a PE ratio of -57.04 and a beta of 1.03.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.06. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.19) EPS. Analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VKTX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, June 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $105.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Maxim Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.78.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the first quarter worth $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 370.7% in the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 353 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, LifeSteps Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the first quarter worth about $37,000. 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.