Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Acquires New Shares in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 16,620 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $648,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Timothy G. Youngquist 2020 Irrevocable Trust grew its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 141.6% in the 2nd quarter. Timothy G. Youngquist 2020 Irrevocable Trust now owns 271,849 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $10,605,000 after buying an additional 159,349 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,334,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $241,458,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 18.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 542,516 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $17,653,000 after acquiring an additional 82,941 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Channel Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,655,000. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

VKTX stock opened at $33.50 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.19 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a 50-day moving average of $35.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.41. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.96 and a 52-week high of $43.15.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.10) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.21) by $0.11. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.58) earnings per share. Viking Therapeutics’s revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Greg Zante sold 21,217 shares of the company’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 transaction 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. The trade was a 9.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 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 owned 422,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,149,777.20. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 187,951 shares of company stock valued at $6,268,442 in the last three months. Company insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VKTX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Lake Street Capital initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, May 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $89.00 price objective for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $83.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.