25,658 Shares in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX Acquired by EFG International AG

EFG International AG acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 25,658 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,001,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VKTX. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth $241,458,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 41.8% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,092,840 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $55,000,000 after buying an additional 616,526 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 58.7% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,085,487 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $54,807,000 after buying an additional 771,704 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 24.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,994,509 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $70,183,000 after buying an additional 385,903 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 536.3% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 992,695 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $34,923,000 after buying an additional 836,686 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 0.6%

NASDAQ VKTX opened at $34.38 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.27. The firm has a market cap of $4.01 billion, a PE ratio of -7.38 and a beta of 0.69. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.96 and a 52 week high of $43.15.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.21) by $0.11. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.58) earnings per share. Viking Therapeutics’s quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -4.47 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VKTX has been the subject of several research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Lake Street Capital assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $89.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Zacks Research upgraded Viking Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $83.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.62.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CFO Greg Zante sold 21,217 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.47, for a total value of $710,132.99. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 212,204 shares in the company, valued at $7,102,467.88. The trade was a 9.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 18,217 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.47, for a total transaction of $609,722.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 422,760 shares in the company, valued at $14,149,777.20. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 187,951 shares of company stock valued at $6,268,442 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

About Viking Therapeutics

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.