Profit Investment Management LLC Sells 58,559 Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX

Key Points

• Profit Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 76.5%, selling 58,559 shares in Q4 and now holding 17,995 shares valued at about $633,000 (≈2.6% of its portfolio; its 18th largest holding).
• Viking reported a Q4 loss of $1.38 EPS (missing estimates), trades around $32.33 with a 52-week range of $18.92–$43.15, and has a market cap near $3.74 billion.
• Institutional ownership is high (≈76%) with large new stakes from funds like Norges Bank and Jump Financial, analysts' consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $87.80, while insiders sold roughly 364,731 shares (~$12M) last quarter despite a small insider purchase.

Profit Investment Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 76.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,995 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 58,559 shares during the quarter. Viking Therapeutics makes up approximately 2.6% of Profit Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Profit Investment Management LLC's holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $633,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $12,201,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter worth about $46,846,000. RFG Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 84.8% during the 3rd quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 120,214 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,159,000 after purchasing an additional 55,175 shares during the last quarter. Marex Group plc bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth about $983,000. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 26.6% during the 3rd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 199,387 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $5,240,000 after purchasing an additional 41,888 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VKTX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. BTIG Research raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $99.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $87.80.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VKTX opened at $32.33 on Friday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $32.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.75. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.92 and a fifty-two week high of $43.15. The company has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.17 and a beta of 0.75.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.38) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.89) by ($0.49). During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.32) EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, insider Neil William Aubuchon bought 4,475 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $33.50 per share, for a total transaction of $149,912.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 4,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,912.50. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 57,661 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.90, for a total value of $1,897,046.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 189,891 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,247,413.90. The trade was a 23.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 364,731 shares of company stock valued at $12,053,627. 4.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Viking Therapeutics

Viking Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders. Headquartered in San Diego, California, the company's pipeline leverages small-molecule approaches to target hormone signaling pathways implicated in conditions such as non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes and muscle wasting disorders.

The company's lead programs include VK2809, a thyroid hormone receptor‐beta agonist designed to reduce liver fat and improve lipid profiles in patients with NASH and dyslipidemia, and VK5211, a selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) aimed at enhancing muscle mass and function in individuals with muscle wasting conditions.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VKTX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.