Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Price Down 4% on Insider Selling

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) shares dropped 4% during trading on Monday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $74.78 and last traded at $74.89. Approximately 5,157,055 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 18% from the average daily volume of 4,377,807 shares. The stock had previously closed at $78.03.

Specifically, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 11,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total value of $889,790.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $768,455. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on VKTX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $108.60.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 4.5 %

The firm's fifty day moving average price is $63.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.64. The stock has a market cap of $8.22 billion, a PE ratio of -80.13 and a beta of 1.00.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.23) earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VKTX. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,381,904 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $100,157,000 after purchasing an additional 97,552 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter worth about $607,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter worth about $4,775,000. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter worth about $690,000. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter worth about $1,422,000. 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.