GSA Capital Partners LLP Purchases New Holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX

GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 25,988 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,014,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VKTX. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Viking Therapeutics by 41.8% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,092,840 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $55,000,000 after acquiring an additional 616,526 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in Viking Therapeutics by 58.7% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,085,487 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $54,807,000 after acquiring an additional 771,704 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 24.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,994,509 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $70,183,000 after purchasing an additional 385,903 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 536.3% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 992,695 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $34,923,000 after acquiring an additional 836,686 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. raised 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. 76.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ VKTX opened at $33.63 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.03. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $22.96 and a one year high of $43.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.92 billion, a PE ratio of -7.22 and a beta of 0.69.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced 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. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.58) EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Greg Zante sold 21,217 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 212,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,102,467.88. This trade represents a 9.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated 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. 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 187,951 shares of company stock worth $6,268,442. Insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on VKTX shares. Zacks Research lowered Viking Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, July 17th. Lake Street Capital started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $89.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $83.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.