Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Boosts Holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 59.2%, acquiring an additional 222,293 shares, bringing its total to 597,515 shares valued at approximately $14.43 million.
• Institutional investors now own 76.03% of Viking Therapeutics stock, with Ameriprise Financial significantly increasing its holdings by 228.5% in the last quarter.
• Viking Therapeutics reported a quarterly loss of ($0.58) per share, missing estimates, and its consensus rating is termed as "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $86.92.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 59.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 597,515 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 222,293 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned 0.53% of Viking Therapeutics worth $14,430,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 121.5% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 29,721 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $718,000 after purchasing an additional 16,302 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 9,209.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 24,392 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $589,000 after purchasing an additional 24,130 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $429,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at about $220,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of 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 last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 4.4%

VKTX stock traded up $1.67 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $39.86. 4,003,305 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,340,791. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -26.05 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.63. 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 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). The business's revenue for the quarter was up NaN% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.20) EPS. Research analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 4,266 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.77, for a total value of $118,466.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 377,535 shares of the company's stock, 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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 4,266 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 168,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,682,001.60. The trade was a 2.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,421 shares of company stock valued at $984,405 over the last 90 days. 4.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on VKTX shares. Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 target price (down from $95.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $86.92.

Viking Therapeutics Company 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.