Raiffeisen Bank International AG Buys 13,000 Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Key Points

• Raiffeisen Bank International AG increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 108.3%, acquiring an additional 13,000 shares in the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 25,000 shares valued at approximately $641,000.
• Several large investors, including Ameriprise Financial and Man Group plc, significantly increased their positions in Viking Therapeutics, indicating growing institutional interest in the company.
• Wall Street analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Viking Therapeutics, with a consensus target price of $86.92, despite recent earnings results that missed estimates.

Raiffeisen Bank International AG increased its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 108.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 25,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 13,000 shares during the quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG's holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $641,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of VKTX. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 228.5% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,479,596 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $59,540,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029,125 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $24,888,000. Man Group plc grew its position in Viking Therapeutics by 3,373.4% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 448,732 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $18,057,000 after acquiring an additional 435,813 shares during the last quarter. Braidwell LP grew its position in Viking Therapeutics by 27.9% in the 4th quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 1,479,666 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $59,542,000 after acquiring an additional 322,689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $8,416,000. Institutional investors own 76.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Viking Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. 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. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (down previously from $95.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Viking Therapeutics news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 4,266 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.77, for a total transaction of $118,466.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 377,535 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,484,146.95. This trade represents a 1.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 4,266 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.76, for a total value of $118,424.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 168,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,682,001.60. The trade was a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,421 shares of company stock worth $984,405. 4.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VKTX opened at $33.98 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.82 billion, a P/E ratio of -22.21 and a beta of 0.67. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.92 and a 1-year high of $81.73. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $29.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.50.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.58) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.44) by ($0.14). The firm's revenue for the quarter was up NaN% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.20) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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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