Apis Capital Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX

Key Points

• Apis Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 16.7% in the first quarter, owning 112,000 shares worth approximately $2.7 million, which makes it the firm's 23rd largest position.
• Several hedge funds, including Quarry LP and Parallel Advisors LLC, significantly increased their positions in Viking Therapeutics, with Quarry LP boosting its stake by a striking 1,621.4%.
• Viking Therapeutics has a consensus "Buy" rating among analysts, with a price target of $86.92, even as the company's stock experienced a recent decline of 1.9%.

Apis Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 16.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 112,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 16,000 shares during the quarter. Viking Therapeutics comprises about 1.3% of Apis Capital Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Apis Capital Advisors LLC owned 0.10% of Viking Therapeutics worth $2,705,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in Viking Therapeutics by 108.5% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,068 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 1,076 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Viking Therapeutics by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 535,984 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $21,568,000 after acquiring an additional 54,871 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 537,239 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $21,516,000 after purchasing an additional 73,710 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth about $224,000. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 48,707 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,960,000 after acquiring an additional 10,564 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 4,266 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 377,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 4,266 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.76, for a total transaction of $118,424.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 168,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,682,001.60. The trade was 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 over the last ninety days. 4.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on 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 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 issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $86.92.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 0.4%

VKTX stock traded down $0.10 during trading on Friday, reaching $26.44. 3,113,773 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,775,073. The firm's 50 day moving average is $31.21 and its 200 day moving average is $28.42. The firm has a market cap of $2.97 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.32 and a beta of 0.73. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.92 and a twelve month high of $81.73.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.20) earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up NaN% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.