Xponance Inc. Purchases 7,435 Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 119.6% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 13,649 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 7,435 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $724,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VKTX. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 44.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,785,724 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $638,429,000 after purchasing an additional 2,403,820 shares during the last quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter worth about $294,380,000. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 32.4% during the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,274,945 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $23,727,000 after acquiring an additional 311,681 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Viking Therapeutics by 88.3% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,119,885 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $20,841,000 after acquiring an additional 525,296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perpetual Ltd bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at approximately $78,586,000. 76.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of VKTX opened at $61.63 on Monday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.28 and a 52 week high of $99.41. The stock has a market cap of $6.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -66.27 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $60.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.77.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.06. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.19) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 18,026 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.13, for a total transaction of $1,029,825.38. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 362,149 shares in the company, valued at $20,689,572.37. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Brian Lian sold 115,859 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.58, for a total value of $6,671,161.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,354,927 shares in the company, valued at $135,596,696.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 18,026 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.13, for a total transaction of $1,029,825.38. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 362,149 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,689,572.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 516,671 shares of company stock valued at $33,810,813. Insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on VKTX shares. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $138.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $108.60.

Viking Therapeutics 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.