Signaturefd LLC Decreases Stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Signaturefd LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 19.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,163 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 289 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $62,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 370.7% in the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 353 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. LifeSteps Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $61,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on VKTX shares. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Maxim Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Raymond James lifted their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, June 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, June 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.78.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Brian Lian sold 115,859 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.58, for a total transaction of $6,671,161.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,354,927 shares in the company, valued at $135,596,696.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 5,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.72, for a total transaction of $397,404.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $662,340. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 115,859 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.58, for a total transaction of $6,671,161.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,354,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $135,596,696.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 290,241 shares of company stock valued at $17,786,475 over the last quarter. 4.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VKTX opened at $58.10 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -62.47 and a beta of 1.03. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.28 and a 12-month high of $99.41. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $57.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.19.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.06. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.19) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.