Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Sold by Allianz Asset Management GmbH

Key Points

• Allianz Asset Management GmbH sold 35,986 shares of Viking Therapeutics, reducing its stake by 27.2%, leaving it with approximately 96,363 shares valued at about $2.3 million.
• In recent activity, several institutional investors have increased their holdings in Viking Therapeutics, with Parallel Advisors LLC raising their stake significantly by 64.8%.
• Viking Therapeutics reported (0.58) earnings per share, missing expectations and showing a revenue increase compared to last year, while insiders have sold a total of 35,421 shares valued at nearly $1 million over the past 90 days.

Allianz Asset Management GmbH trimmed its holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 27.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 96,363 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 35,986 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned approximately 0.09% of Viking Therapeutics worth $2,327,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Viking Therapeutics by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 301,582 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $12,136,000 after purchasing an additional 25,824 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 96,702 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,891,000 after acquiring an additional 14,873 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $429,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $51,464,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $867,000. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, CFO Greg Zante sold 4,266 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 168,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,682,001.60. This represents a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 4,266 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were 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 directly owned 377,535 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,484,146.95. This represents a 1.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 35,421 shares of company stock valued at $984,405. 4.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of Viking Therapeutics stock traded up $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $32.68. 3,342,606 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,791,426. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.92 and a 1 year high of $81.73. The company has a market capitalization of $3.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.36 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a fifty day moving average of $29.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.56.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on VKTX. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 target price (down previously from $95.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial dropped 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $86.92.

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.