Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX Shares Sold by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 2.3%, now holding 711,897 shares valued at approximately $17.2 million.
• Viking Therapeutics reported a quarterly EPS of ($0.58), missing the consensus estimate, while analyst ratings for the stock vary with two "Strong Buy" ratings and a consensus price target of $86.92.
• Insiders have sold 35,421 shares of Viking Therapeutics in the last three months, with 4.10% of the stock now owned by insiders.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 711,897 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 16,755 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.63% of Viking Therapeutics worth $17,192,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VKTX. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake 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 during the last quarter. Man Group plc boosted its stake 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 during the last quarter. Braidwell LP boosted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 27.9% in the 4th 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. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth about $8,416,000. Finally, Tang Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 166.7% in the 4th quarter. Tang Capital Management LLC now owns 320,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $12,877,000 after buying an additional 200,000 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VKTX. Raymond James Financial decreased their price target on 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. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (down from $95.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Viking Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $86.92.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VKTX opened at $26.00 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.99 and a beta of 0.67. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $18.92 and a one year high of $81.73. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $31.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.67.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.58) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by ($0.14). During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.20) earnings per share. Viking Therapeutics's quarterly revenue was up NaN% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Viking Therapeutics news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 4,266 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 377,535 shares in the company, valued at $10,484,146.95. The trade was a 1.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 that occurred 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 $4,682,001.60. This represents a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,421 shares of company stock worth $984,405 in the last three months. 4.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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