Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Director J Matthew Singleton Sells 10,300 Shares

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Director J Matthew Singleton sold 10,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total value of $715,850.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $660,250. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

J Matthew Singleton also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, August 21st, J Matthew Singleton sold 5,700 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.72, for a total value of $397,404.00.
• On Monday, August 19th, J Matthew Singleton sold 16,000 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.22, for a total value of $995,520.00.
• On Wednesday, August 14th, J Matthew Singleton sold 20,786 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.53, for a total value of $1,195,818.58.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 3.4 %

VKTX opened at $70.47 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.81 billion, a P/E ratio of -75.77 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $59.08 and a 200-day moving average of $63.38. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.28 and a 12-month high of $99.41.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 in the previous year, the company earned ($0.19) earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in Viking Therapeutics by 370.7% during 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 in the last quarter. LifeSteps Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Viking Therapeutics by 140.8% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 802 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Raymond James upped their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, September 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $108.60.

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.