Corient Private Wealth LP Buys Shares of 28,459 Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX

Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 28,459 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,110,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VKTX. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 13.0% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 347,716 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $8,396,000 after acquiring an additional 39,886 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at approximately $230,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 6,696 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the second quarter worth $196,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 29.5% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,109 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on VKTX. Truist Financial began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $83.00 price objective on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Lake Street Capital started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $89.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.62.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 2.6%

NASDAQ VKTX opened at $34.87 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.48 and a beta of 0.69. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.96 and a 12-month high of $43.15. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.46.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.21) by $0.11. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.58) EPS. Viking Therapeutics’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,572,441 shares in the company, valued at $85,713,734.12. This trade represents a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.47, for a total transaction of $710,132.99. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 212,204 shares in the company, valued at $7,102,467.88. This trade represents a 9.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Company Profile

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.