ADAR1 Capital Management LLC Buys 50,113 Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX

Key Points

• ADAR1 Capital Management LLC significantly increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 538.8%, acquiring an additional 50,113 shares, bringing its total holdings to 59,413 shares valued at approximately $1,435,000.
• Viking Therapeutics's quarterly earnings fell short of expectations, reporting a loss of ($0.58) per share, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by $0.14.
• The stock has seen increased activity from institutional investors, with 76.03% of shares currently owned by such entities, reflecting growing interest in Viking Therapeutics amidst mixed analyst ratings.

ADAR1 Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 538.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,413 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 50,113 shares during the quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC owned 0.05% of Viking Therapeutics worth $1,435,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 1,621.4% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,205 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 1,135 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 64.8% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,363 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 536 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 222,100.0% during the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 2,222 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 2,221 shares in the last quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth $56,000. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC grew its position in Viking Therapeutics by 1,242.9% during the 1st quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC now owns 2,350 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 2,175 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 4,266 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.77, for a total transaction of $118,466.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 377,535 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,484,146.95. This trade represents a 1.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 4,266 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.76, for a total value of $118,424.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 168,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,682,001.60. This trade represents a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,421 shares of company stock valued at $984,405 in the last ninety days. 4.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Raymond James Financial cut their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $86.92.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VKTX traded up $0.45 during trading on Friday, reaching $26.98. The stock had a trading volume of 5,240,439 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,570,530. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.92 and a 52 week high of $81.73. The firm's fifty day moving average is $31.22 and its 200 day moving average is $28.38. The stock has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.63 and a beta of 0.73.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.58) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.44) by ($0.14). The company's quarterly revenue was up NaN% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.20) EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Viking Therapeutics Company 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.