Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. Buys Shares of 10,003 Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX

Key Points

• Landscape Capital Management has acquired 10,003 shares of Viking Therapeutics, representing a new stake valued at approximately $242,000.
• Viking Therapeutics has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion and has experienced a share price performance between a fifty-two week low of $18.92 and a high of $81.73.
• Insider sales at Viking Therapeutics included CEO Brian Lian selling 26,889 shares, decreasing his ownership by 1.11%, while overall, 4.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 10,003 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $242,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings 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. Man Group plc increased its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 3,373.4% during the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 448,732 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $18,057,000 after buying an additional 435,813 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the first quarter worth about $9,283,000. Braidwell LP increased its holdings 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. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings 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. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, CFO Greg Zante sold 4,266 shares of the business'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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 26,889 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.80, for a total transaction of $747,514.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,388,014 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $66,386,789.20. This represents a 1.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 35,421 shares of company stock valued at $984,405. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. 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 report on Thursday, July 24th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $86.92.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 1.7%

NASDAQ:VKTX traded up $0.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $26.98. 5,240,439 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,570,530. The business's 50-day moving average price is $31.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.38. The company has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a PE ratio of -17.63 and a beta of 0.73. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.58) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by ($0.14). The business's quarterly revenue was up NaN% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.20) EPS. Analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Viking Therapeutics 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.