Harbour Investments Inc. Boosts Stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Key Points

• Harbour Investments Inc. increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 146,250%, now holding 14,635 shares valued at approximately $353,000 as of their latest SEC filing.
• Viking Therapeutics reported a quarterly loss of ($0.58) EPS, which was lower than analysts' expectations of ($0.44 EPS), indicating weaker performance than forecasted.
• Major equity analysts have given Viking Therapeutics a mix of ratings, with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target of $86.92.

Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 146,250.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,635 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 14,625 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc.'s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $353,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. HighMark Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake 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 stake 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. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 2.7% in the first quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 18,729 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $452,000 after buying an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $33,000 after buying an additional 536 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principia Wealth Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 10.5% in the first quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 6,478 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $150,000 after buying an additional 616 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of VKTX opened at $34.03 on Wednesday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.92 and a 1-year high of $81.73. The stock has a market cap of $3.83 billion, a PE ratio of -22.24 and a beta of 0.67. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.53.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.44) by ($0.14). During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.20) EPS. Viking Therapeutics's quarterly revenue was up NaN% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 35,421 shares of company stock valued at $984,405. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on VKTX shares. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price objective (down from $95.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics currently 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.

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