Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC cut its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 93.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,670 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 54,566 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $195,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VKTX. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter worth $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 370.7% in the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 353 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. LifeSteps Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the first quarter worth about $61,000. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 2.3 %

Viking Therapeutics stock opened at $54.13 on Friday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $8.28 and a 52-week high of $99.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -58.20 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $57.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.46.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.06. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.19) EPS. Research analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VKTX has been the topic of several research reports. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, June 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, June 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $105.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.78.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 1,000 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.90, for a total transaction of $69,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,354,927 shares in the company, valued at $164,609,397.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 20,786 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.53, for a total transaction of $1,195,818.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $546,535. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.90, for a total value of $69,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,354,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $164,609,397.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 290,241 shares of company stock valued at $17,786,475. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.