PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Increases Stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 65.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,387 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,530 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $169,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VKTX. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its position in Viking Therapeutics by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 647,391 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $15,634,000 after purchasing an additional 28,922 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 59.2% in the first quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 597,515 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $14,430,000 after buying an additional 222,293 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 0.5% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 538,636 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $13,008,000 after buying an additional 2,652 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 470,028 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $11,351,000 after acquiring an additional 6,696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at $9,283,000. 76.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, CFO Greg Zante sold 6,185 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $216,475.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 173,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,075,720. This trade represents a 3.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 6,185 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $216,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 382,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,386,345. The trade was a 1.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 111,359 shares of company stock valued at $3,932,155. 4.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on VKTX shares. Zacks Research upgraded Viking Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. B. Riley upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.14.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ:VKTX opened at $36.78 on Friday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.92 and a 1-year high of $54.54. The company has a 50-day moving average of $33.76 and a 200 day moving average of $30.72. The firm has a market cap of $4.16 billion, a PE ratio of -17.35 and a beta of 0.64.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.81) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.67) by ($0.14). During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.22) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal 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.