Fox Run Management L.L.C. Makes New $807,000 Investment in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX

Key Points

• Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired 33,431 shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. worth approximately $807,000 in the first quarter, indicating strong interest from institutional investors.
• Viking Therapeutics reported a quarterly loss of ($0.58) earnings per share, falling short of analysts' estimates, alongside a projected -1.56 EPS for the current year.
• Several analysts have changed their ratings for Viking Therapeutics, with Citigroup raising its target price to $38.00 and maintaining a "neutral" rating.

Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 33,431 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $807,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Braidwell LP boosted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 27.9% during the fourth quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 1,479,666 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $59,542,000 after buying an additional 322,689 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 228.5% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,479,596 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $59,540,000 after buying an additional 1,029,125 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $24,888,000. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC boosted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 597,739 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $24,053,000 after buying an additional 16,321 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 59.2% during the first quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 597,515 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $14,430,000 after buying an additional 222,293 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company's stock.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 5.1%

VKTX traded up $2.06 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $42.09. 5,079,205 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,640,463. The firm's fifty day moving average is $31.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.81. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.92 and a 1-year high of $81.73. The company has a market cap of $4.73 billion, a PE ratio of -27.51 and a beta of 0.67.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last posted its 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). During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.20) earnings per share. The business's revenue was up NaN% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Greg Zante sold 4,266 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.76, for a total transaction of $118,424.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 168,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,682,001.60. This represents a 2.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 26,889 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,388,014 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,386,789.20. The trade was a 1.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,421 shares of company stock valued at $984,405. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Viking Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Citigroup upped their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial decreased their price target 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus 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.