Granahan Investment Management LLC Raises Position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX

Key Points

• Granahan Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 20.4%, now owning 367,961 shares, worth approximately $8.89 million.
• Several institutional investors have significantly modified their holdings, with some such as Quarry LP increasing their position by over 1,621%.
• Analysts have shown a generally positive outlook on Viking Therapeutics, with a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $86.92.

Granahan Investment Management LLC increased its position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 20.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 367,961 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 62,375 shares during the period. Granahan Investment Management LLC owned 0.33% of Viking Therapeutics worth $8,886,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HighMark Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 9.4% in the first quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,660 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $113,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. lifted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 3.2% in the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 14,470 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $349,000 after buying an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 7.5% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 6,911 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $167,000 after buying an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC raised its position in Viking Therapeutics by 2.7% during the first quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 18,729 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in Viking Therapeutics by 64.8% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,363 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CFO Greg Zante sold 4,266 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.76, for a total transaction of $118,424.16. Following the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 26,889 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.80, for a total value of $747,514.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,388,014 shares in the company, valued at $66,386,789.20. This trade represents 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. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of VKTX traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $25.07. 2,673,794 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,778,958. The stock has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.44 and a beta of 0.73. The stock's 50-day moving average is $31.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.27. 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 quarterly earnings data 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 prior year, the company earned ($0.20) earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up NaN% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on VKTX shares. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus 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.