First Trust Advisors LP Invests $3.44 Million in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX

First Trust Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 105,570 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,435,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VKTX. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at $50,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 18.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 542,516 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $17,653,000 after purchasing an additional 82,941 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 32.6% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 14,020 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $456,000 after purchasing an additional 3,447 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 35.2% during the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,960 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank increased its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 0.9% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 212,500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $6,915,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Viking Therapeutics news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 18,217 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.47, for a total value of $609,722.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 422,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,149,777.20. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 148,517 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.32, for a total value of $4,948,586.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,572,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $85,713,734.12. This represents a 5.46% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 187,951 shares of company stock worth $6,268,442 in the last three months. Insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, July 17th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Viking Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.88.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VKTX opened at $33.51 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.19 and a beta of 0.69. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.96 and a fifty-two week high of $43.15. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.99.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.21) by $0.11. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.58) earnings per share. Viking Therapeutics’s quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -4.5 EPS for the current year.

Viking Therapeutics Profile

Viking Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders. Headquartered in San Diego, California, the company’s pipeline leverages small-molecule approaches to target hormone signaling pathways implicated in conditions such as non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes and muscle wasting disorders.

The company’s lead programs include VK2809, a thyroid hormone receptor‐beta agonist designed to reduce liver fat and improve lipid profiles in patients with NASH and dyslipidemia, and VK5211, a selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) aimed at enhancing muscle mass and function in individuals with muscle wasting conditions.