Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC Invests $1.37 Million in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX

Key Points

• Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC has made a new investment in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: VKTX), acquiring 51,576 shares valued at approximately $1.37 million.
• Insider trading activity included CEO Brian Lian selling 26,889 shares for around $747,514, representing a decrease in his ownership.
• Viking Therapeutics' stock has a current average rating of "Buy" from equities analysts, with a consensus target price of $87.50.

Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 51,576 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,367,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 121.5% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 29,721 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $718,000 after purchasing an additional 16,302 shares during the period. Wealth Management Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at about $241,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 9,209.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 24,392 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $589,000 after acquiring an additional 24,130 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $429,000. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its position in Viking Therapeutics by 118.5% during the second quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 52,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,378,000 after acquiring an additional 28,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company's stock.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of Viking Therapeutics stock traded up $0.85 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $26.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,859,300 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,417,863. The stock has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.16 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $30.35 and a 200-day moving average of $28.07. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.92 and a twelve month 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 analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.44) by ($0.14). During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.20) EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up NaN% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, CFO Greg Zante sold 4,266 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.76, for a total value 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. This represents a 2.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 4,266 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.77, for a total transaction of $118,466.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 377,535 shares in the company, valued at $10,484,146.95. This trade represents a 1.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 35,421 shares of company stock worth $984,405. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VKTX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $102.00 price target 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 report on Monday. Raymond James Financial decreased their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics 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.