Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Buys 20,296 Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX

Key Points

• Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 61.1% in Q2, holding a total of 53,514 shares worth $1.4 million at the end of the period.
• Viking Therapeutics accumulated a market cap of $2.95 billion, with the stock recently trading at $26.25, down from a 52-week high of $81.73.
• Insiders, including CEO Brian Lian, sold a total of 35,421 shares worth nearly $1 million in the last 90 days, indicating potential caution among company leadership.

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 61.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 53,514 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 20,296 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC's holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $1,418,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VKTX. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 1,621.4% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,205 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,135 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,221 shares during the last quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $56,000. Finally, Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $56,000. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 3.3%

Shares of VKTX stock opened at $26.25 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of -17.16 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.07. 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 announced its quarterly 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 previous year, the firm posted ($0.20) earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up NaN% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 26,889 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.80, for a total value of $747,514.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,388,014 shares in the company, valued at $66,386,789.20. The trade was a 1.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 4,266 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated 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 represents a 1.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,421 shares of company stock worth $984,405 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on VKTX. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday. Citigroup boosted 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. Finally, Raymond James Financial dropped their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $90.38.

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.

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