15,089 Shares in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX Bought by J. Goldman & Co LP

J. Goldman & Co LP acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 15,089 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $589,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $241,458,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 836,686 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 771,704 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 41.8% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,092,840 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $55,000,000 after buying an additional 616,526 shares during the period. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 6,315.6% during the second quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 596,650 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $15,811,000 after buying an additional 587,350 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VKTX. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CFO Greg Zante sold 21,217 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.47, for a total value of $710,132.99. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 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, COO Marianna Mancini sold 18,217 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.47, for a total value of $609,722.99. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 422,760 shares in the company, valued at $14,149,777.20. This trade represents a 4.13% 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 a total of 187,951 shares of company stock worth $6,268,442 over the last ninety days. 5.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Viking Therapeutics stock opened at $34.38 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $4.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.38 and a beta of 0.69. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $35.53 and a 200-day moving average of $33.27. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $22.96 and a one year high of $43.15.

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

Viking Therapeutics 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.