Braidwell LP Sells 43,711 Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX

Key Points

• Braidwell LP reduced its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 3.0%, owning 1,435,955 shares worth approximately $34.68 million following the sale of 43,711 shares.
• In contrast, other institutional investors such as Royal Bank of Canada and Apis Capital Advisors increased their stakes by 13.0% and 16.7% respectively, indicating varying levels of confidence in the company.
• Recent insider trades include COO Marianna Mancini and CFO Greg Zante, who both sold shares valued at around $118,000, reflecting a small decrease in their ownership positions.

Braidwell LP decreased its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,435,955 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 43,711 shares during the period. Braidwell LP owned about 1.28% of Viking Therapeutics worth $34,678,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 121.5% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 29,721 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $718,000 after acquiring an additional 16,302 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 9,209.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 24,392 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $589,000 after acquiring an additional 24,130 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $429,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $220,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 64.8% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,363 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 536 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VKTX has been the topic of several analyst reports. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Citigroup increased their price objective 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. Finally, Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $86.92.

Insider Activity

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

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of VKTX stock traded up $0.45 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $26.98. 5,240,439 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,570,530. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $31.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.40. The stock has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a PE ratio of -17.63 and a beta of 0.73. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.92 and a 12 month high of $81.73.

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