This Insider Has Just Sold Shares In Viking Therapeutics

Some Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the President, Brian Lian, recently sold a substantial US$748k worth of stock at a price of US$27.80 per share. However, it's crucial to note that they remain very much invested in the stock and that sale only reduced their holding by 1.4%.

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Viking Therapeutics Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent sale by President Brian Lian was not their only sale of Viking Therapeutics shares this year. They previously made an even bigger sale of -US$8.3m worth of shares at a price of US$43.32 per share. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. The good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of US$28.19. So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.

Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Viking Therapeutics shares, than buying. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

Check out our latest analysis for Viking Therapeutics

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Insider Ownership Of Viking Therapeutics

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Insiders own 2.1% of Viking Therapeutics shares, worth about US$68m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Viking Therapeutics Tell Us?

Insiders sold Viking Therapeutics shares recently, but they didn't buy any. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. We're in no rush to buy! So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. When we did our research, we found 4 warning signs for Viking Therapeutics (2 don't sit too well with us!) that we believe deserve your full attention.

But note: Viking Therapeutics may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.