NewEdge Wealth LLC Acquires Shares of 22,562 Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX

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

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of VKTX. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 17,580 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $466,000 after buying an additional 406 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 9,365 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $329,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 13.6% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,870 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 29.5% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,109 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise boosted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 16.7% during the third quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 3,752 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $98,000 after acquiring an additional 536 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on VKTX. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 target price on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Lake Street Capital assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $89.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research raised Viking Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.62.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:VKTX opened at $33.89 on Friday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.96 and a 12-month high of $43.15. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $35.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.13. The firm has a market cap of $3.95 billion, a PE ratio of -7.27 and a beta of 0.69.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Brian Lian sold 148,517 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,572,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $85,713,734.12. This represents a 5.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 422,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,149,777.20. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 have sold a total of 187,951 shares of company stock worth $6,268,442 in the last 90 days. Company 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.