Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX Stake Lifted by Curi RMB Capital LLC

Key Points

• Curi RMB Capital LLC significantly increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics, acquiring a total of 35,599 shares, representing a 490.0% boost during the first quarter.
• Viking Therapeutics' stock performance has been mixed, with Wall Street analysts providing varying ratings; the average target price is set at $86.92.
• Insider trades have seen COO and CFO both sell shares, highlighting a 1.12% and 2.47% decrease in their ownership respectively, amidst broader insider selling activities.

Curi RMB Capital LLC boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 490.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,599 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 29,565 shares during the quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC's holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $860,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VKTX. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 228.5% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Man Group plc lifted its holdings 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 worth $18,057,000 after buying an additional 435,813 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at about $9,283,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 59.2% in the 1st quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 597,515 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $14,430,000 after purchasing an additional 222,293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tang Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 166.7% in the 4th quarter. Tang Capital Management LLC now owns 320,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $12,877,000 after purchasing an additional 200,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company's stock.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 0.8%

NASDAQ VKTX traded down $0.21 on Tuesday, hitting $25.27. The stock had a trading volume of 3,903,014 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,791,702. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $18.92 and a one year high of $81.73. The stock has a market cap of $2.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.52 and a beta of 0.73. The company's 50-day moving average is $31.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.29.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VKTX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Raymond James Financial cut their target price 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, HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $86.92.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Greg Zante sold 4,266 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 168,660 shares in the company, valued at $4,682,001.60. This trade represents a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 4,266 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 35,421 shares of company stock worth $984,405 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

About Viking Therapeutics

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.