Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) CFO Greg Zante Sells 57,661 Shares

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) CFO Greg Zante sold 57,661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.90, for a total transaction of $1,897,046.90. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 189,891 shares in the company, valued at $6,247,413.90. This trade represents a 23.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

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

• On Tuesday, October 28th, Greg Zante sold 6,185 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $216,475.00.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 9.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:VKTX traded down $3.28 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $32.14. The company had a trading volume of 8,255,722 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,999,261. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.92 and a 1-year high of $43.55. The stock has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a PE ratio of -15.16 and a beta of 0.71. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $36.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.36.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.81) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.67) by ($0.14). During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.22) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on VKTX. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $105.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. B. Riley upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, September 29th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised Viking Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.14.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 71.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,195 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares during the period. PVG Asset Management Corp raised its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter. PVG Asset Management Corp now owns 13,364 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $351,000 after acquiring an additional 2,106 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 45.5% during the 3rd quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 11,628 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $305,000 after acquiring an additional 3,636 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 58,496 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,651,000 after purchasing an additional 6,571 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 42.9% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 10,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Viking Therapeutics Company Profile

Viking Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders. Headquartered in San Diego, California, the company’s pipeline leverages small-molecule approaches to target hormone signaling pathways implicated in conditions such as non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes and muscle wasting disorders.

The company’s lead programs include VK2809, a thyroid hormone receptor‐beta agonist designed to reduce liver fat and improve lipid profiles in patients with NASH and dyslipidemia, and VK5211, a selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) aimed at enhancing muscle mass and function in individuals with muscle wasting conditions.