Xponance Inc. Grows Stock Position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,024 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 610 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $564,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $24,888,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in Viking Therapeutics by 137.0% in the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 375,222 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $15,099,000 after buying an additional 216,873 shares during the period. Eventide Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 79.1% in the third quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 452,969 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $28,677,000 after buying an additional 200,000 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 29.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 593,528 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $37,576,000 after acquiring an additional 136,729 shares during the period. Finally, Sphera Funds Management LTD. bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth about $8,424,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

VKTX stock opened at $27.98 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -27.98 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.14. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.41 and a 52 week high of $89.10.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.25) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VKTX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Maxim Group cut their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James increased their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $2,317,691.25. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 374,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,994,228.50. This trade represents a 12.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $2,150,709.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 165,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,064,822.25. This trade represents a 23.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 299,014 shares of company stock worth $12,782,849 over the last 90 days. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Viking Therapeutics Profile

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.