Eventide Asset Management LLC Has $6.17 Million Holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX

Key Points

• Eventide Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 42.3%, holding 255,407 shares worth approximately $6.17 million at the end of the first quarter.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Viking Therapeutics, with Citigroup raising its price target to $38.00 while HC Wainwright set a target of $102.00, indicating a range of expectations for the stock's performance.
• Insider sales included 4,266 shares sold by CFO Greg Zante and COO Marianna Mancini, reflecting a decrease in their positions of 2.47% and 1.12% respectively.

Eventide Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 42.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 255,407 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 187,290 shares during the quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC owned 0.23% of Viking Therapeutics worth $6,168,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake 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 worth $718,000 after acquiring an additional 16,302 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased 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 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 during the 4th quarter worth about $429,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at about $220,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CFO Greg Zante sold 4,266 shares of Viking Therapeutics 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 sale, the chief financial officer 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 4,266 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 377,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,484,146.95. This trade represents a 1.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 35,421 shares of company stock valued at $984,405. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VKTX opened at $26.53 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.34 and a beta of 0.73. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $31.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.42. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.92 and a 52-week high of $81.73.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on VKTX shares. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $86.92.

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.

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