Baird Financial Group Inc. Makes New Investment in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group purchased 46,190 shares of Viking Therapeutics valued at approximately $1.8 million, while institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 76.03% of VKTX.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.62, despite some target reductions and one sell rating.
• VKTX opened at $29.36, below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, as Viking continues developing VK2735, an oral and injectable GLP-1/GIP drug candidate for obesity and related metabolic disorders.

Baird Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 46,190 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,802,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VKTX. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Ballast Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter worth $33,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter worth $53,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at $56,000. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at $50,000. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. They set a "buy" rating and a $83.00 price target for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Lake Street Capital started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $89.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $96.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, CFO Greg Zante sold 21,217 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.47, for a total value of $710,132.99. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 212,204 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,102,467.88. The trade was a 9.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.47, for a total value of $609,722.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 422,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,149,777.20. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 187,951 shares of company stock valued at $6,268,442. 5.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 0.5%

VKTX stock opened at $29.36 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $34.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.45. The company has a market capitalization of $3.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.30 and a beta of 0.69. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.06 and a 52 week high of $43.15.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.21) by $0.11. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.58) earnings per share. Viking Therapeutics's revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Viking Therapeutics Profile

Viking Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders. The company's research programs target conditions including obesity, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), dyslipidemia and other disorders involving hormone regulation and metabolism.

Viking's lead program is VK2735, an investigational dual agonist of the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) receptors being developed in injectable and oral formulations for obesity and related metabolic conditions.

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