Baker BROS. Advisors LP Acquires New Shares in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX

Baker BROS. Advisors LP bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 366,083 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,621,000. Baker BROS. Advisors LP owned about 0.32% of Viking Therapeutics as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VKTX. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 41.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,092,840 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $55,000,000 after purchasing an additional 616,526 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 58.7% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,085,487 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $54,807,000 after purchasing an additional 771,704 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,846,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 954,272 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $25,078,000 after purchasing an additional 131,994 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC lifted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 52.8% in the 2nd quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 638,204 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $16,912,000 after purchasing an additional 220,396 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 57,661 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.98, for a total transaction of $1,901,659.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 409,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,495,086.20. This trade represents a 12.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 233,409 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.96, for a total value of $7,693,160.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,499,291 shares in the company, valued at $82,376,631.36. The trade was a 8.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 364,731 shares of company stock worth $12,053,627 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Viking Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.80.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VKTX opened at $35.63 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $31.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.50. The stock has a market cap of $4.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.20 and a beta of 0.75. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.92 and a 52-week high of $43.15.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.38) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.89) by ($0.49). During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.32) EPS. Analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.