Sanctuary Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX

Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 25,272 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $986,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 13.0% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 347,716 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $8,396,000 after acquiring an additional 39,886 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter worth approximately $230,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 1.4% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 470,028 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $11,351,000 after acquiring an additional 6,696 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter worth about $196,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 29.5% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,109 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

Viking Therapeutics stock opened at $33.86 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.95 billion, a PE ratio of -7.27 and a beta of 0.69. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $35.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.31. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $22.96 and a one year high of $43.15.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CFO Greg Zante sold 21,217 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.47, for a total transaction of $710,132.99. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 212,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,102,467.88. This represents a 9.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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, CEO Brian Lian sold 148,517 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,572,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $85,713,734.12. This represents a 5.46% decrease in their position. 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 187,951 shares of company stock worth $6,268,442 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on VKTX shares. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $83.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Viking Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.62.

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.