NewEdge Wealth LLC Buys New Position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX

NewEdge Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 22,562 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $880,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $422,000. Timothy G. Youngquist 2020 Irrevocable Trust boosted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 141.6% during the second quarter. Timothy G. Youngquist 2020 Irrevocable Trust now owns 271,849 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $10,605,000 after purchasing an additional 159,349 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the second quarter worth $241,458,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at $924,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at $1,270,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 1.4%

NASDAQ VKTX opened at $33.89 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.27 and a beta of 0.69. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $35.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.13. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.96 and a 1 year high of $43.15.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.10) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.21) by $0.11. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.58) earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on VKTX. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Truist Financial started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $83.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research raised Viking Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.62.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CEO Brian Lian sold 148,517 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.32, for a total transaction of $4,948,586.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,572,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $85,713,734.12. The trade was a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.47, for a total value of $609,722.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 422,760 shares in the company, valued at $14,149,777.20. This 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 187,951 shares of company stock worth $6,268,442. Insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

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.