Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Sold by BIT Capital GmbH

BIT Capital GmbH lessened its position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 124,443 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 9,670 shares during the period. BIT Capital GmbH owned about 0.11% of Viking Therapeutics worth $5,008,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VKTX. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 28,251 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,789,000 after acquiring an additional 748 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 715,597 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $45,304,000 after buying an additional 44,122 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $279,000. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 129,345 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $8,189,000 after acquiring an additional 15,557 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth about $884,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VKTX. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and set a $96.00 price objective (down from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Maxim Group lowered their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $95.18.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VKTX traded down $0.48 on Friday, reaching $25.65. 1,972,955 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,896,595. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.41 and a fifty-two week high of $82.00. The business's 50-day moving average is $30.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.65 and a beta of 0.90.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.25) EPS. Analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $2,317,691.25. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 374,134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,994,228.50. This trade represents a 12.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $2,150,709.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 165,259 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,064,822.25. This trade represents a 23.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 299,014 shares of company stock worth $12,782,849 in the last 90 days. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Viking Therapeutics 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.