Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Raises Stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 320.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,503 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 52,968 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Viking Therapeutics worth $4,400,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 140.8% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 802 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 123.8% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,258 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 696 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 115,859 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.58, for a total value of $6,671,161.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,354,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $135,596,696.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 115,859 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,354,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $135,596,696.66. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 18,026 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 362,149 shares in the company, valued at $20,689,572.37. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 516,671 shares of company stock valued at $33,810,813 in the last quarter. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VKTX. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $138.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $108.60.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

Viking Therapeutics stock opened at $65.84 on Monday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $8.28 and a one year high of $99.41. The company has a market cap of $7.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -70.80 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a fifty day moving average of $61.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.34.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.19) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1 EPS for the current year.

About Viking Therapeutics

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.