312,171 Shares in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX Acquired by Man Group plc

Man Group plc purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 312,171 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,178,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VKTX. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth $1,783,000. Kintayl Capital LP bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter worth about $1,142,000. J. Goldman & Co LP bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter worth about $589,000. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $22,393,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $646,000. Institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

VKTX stock opened at $33.86 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.27 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. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.31.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on VKTX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $83.00 target price for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 price objective on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.62.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Brian Lian sold 148,517 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.32, for a total transaction of $4,948,586.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,572,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $85,713,734.12. The trade was a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 21,217 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 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 sold a total of 187,951 shares of company stock valued at $6,268,442 over the last quarter. 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.