Even though Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) has fallen by 11% over the past week , insiders who sold US$8.9m worth of stock over the past year have had less luck. Insiders would probably have been better off holding on to their shares given that the average selling price of US$53.88 is still lower than the current share price.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Viking Therapeutics

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the President, Brian Lian, for US$6.7m worth of shares, at about US$58.78 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$42.25. So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.

In the last year Viking Therapeutics insiders didn't buy any company stock. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

I will like Viking Therapeutics better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Insider Ownership

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It appears that Viking Therapeutics insiders own 2.1% of the company, worth about US$98m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Do The Viking Therapeutics Insider Transactions Indicate?

The fact that there have been no Viking Therapeutics insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. We don't take much encouragement from the transactions by Viking Therapeutics insiders. But we do like the fact that insiders own a fair chunk of the company. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. At Simply Wall St, we've found that Viking Therapeutics has 5 warning signs (2 are a bit concerning!) that deserve your attention before going any further with your analysis.

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.