Victory Capital Management Inc. Has $317,000 Position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Key Points

• Victory Capital Management Inc. has reduced its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 40.3%, now holding 13,140 shares valued at approximately $317,000.
• Evolution among institutional investors included Cambridge Investment Research increasing its position by 121.5% and GAMMA Investing LLC raising theirs by over 9,209.9% during the same quarter.
• Viking Therapeutics reported a quarterly earnings miss with an EPS of ($0.58), against analysts' expectations of ($0.44), as its stock shows a market cap of $3.67 billion.

Victory Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 40.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,140 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 8,857 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $317,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $718,000 after purchasing an additional 16,302 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 24,130 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $429,000. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 96,702 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,891,000 after purchasing an additional 14,873 shares during the period. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $220,000. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, CFO Greg Zante sold 4,266 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 168,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,682,001.60. This represents a 2.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 4,266 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief operating officer owned 377,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,484,146.95. This trade represents a 1.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,421 shares of company stock worth $984,405 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ VKTX opened at $32.68 on Friday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.92 and a 52 week high of $81.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.36 and a beta of 0.67. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $29.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.51.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on VKTX. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $86.92.

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.

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 and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.