Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX Shares Bought by Apis Capital Advisors LLC

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 raised its holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 16.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 112,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 16,000 shares during the period. Viking Therapeutics comprises approximately 1.3% of Apis Capital Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Apis Capital Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Viking Therapeutics worth $2,705,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on VKTX. Citigroup lifted their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Raymond James Financial lowered their price objective 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, HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $86.92.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of NASDAQ VKTX traded down $0.66 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $26.83. 4,818,677 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,626,526. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $31.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.45. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $18.92 and a one year high of $81.73. The company has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.54 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 the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by ($0.14). During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.20) EPS. Viking Therapeutics's revenue for the quarter was up NaN% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 26,889 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.80, for a total transaction of $747,514.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,388,014 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $66,386,789.20. This represents a 1.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 4,266 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.76, for a total transaction of $118,424.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 168,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,682,001.60. This represents a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 35,421 shares of company stock valued at $984,405 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

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.