Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Sold by XTX Topco Ltd

XTX Topco Ltd reduced its position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 91.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,122 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 44,350 shares during the quarter. XTX Topco Ltd's holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 2,265.3% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,548 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $225,000 after acquiring an additional 3,398 shares during the last quarter. Sphera Funds Management LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $8,424,000. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 92.1% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 131,348 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $8,316,000 after purchasing an additional 62,956 shares during the last quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 58.3% during the third quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC now owns 125,762 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $7,962,000 after buying an additional 46,340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $845,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company's stock.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 8.4 %

Viking Therapeutics stock traded up $3.21 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $41.49. 7,126,619 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,466,218. The company has a market cap of $4.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -44.61 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a fifty day moving average of $58.05 and a 200-day moving average of $57.95. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.23 and a twelve month high of $99.41.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.23) earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VKTX. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. B. Riley assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $109.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $80.00 target price on the stock. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $74.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $106.75.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, Director Lawson Macartney sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.67, for a total value of $137,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 47,965 shares in the company, valued at $3,293,756.55. This represents a 4.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total transaction of $889,790.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $768,455. This trade represents a 53.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 371,117 shares of company stock valued at $27,140,009 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 4.70% of the company's stock.

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.