Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. has reduced its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 62.6%, owning 98,034 shares worth approximately $2.37 million after selling over 164,000 shares in the first quarter.
• Viking Therapeutics' stock is currently trading at $25.85, with a market capitalization of $2.91 billion, having experienced a 1-year high of $81.73 and a low of $18.92.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Viking Therapeutics, with two analysts. rating it as a Strong Buy and others adjusting their price targets, with an average target of $86.92.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 62.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 98,034 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 164,129 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.09% of Viking Therapeutics worth $2,368,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Braidwell LP lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 322,689 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 228.5% in the fourth 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 period. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 597,739 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $24,053,000 after purchasing an additional 16,321 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 59.2% in the first 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 during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 537,239 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $21,516,000 after purchasing an additional 73,710 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company's stock.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of Viking Therapeutics stock opened at $25.85 on Tuesday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.92 and a 1 year high of $81.73. The company has a market capitalization of $2.91 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.90 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $31.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.57.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last issued 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). The firm's quarterly revenue was up NaN% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.20) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on VKTX shares. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (down previously from $95.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $86.92.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 4,266 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief operating officer owned 377,535 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,484,146.95. The trade was a 1.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 4,266 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.76, for a total transaction of $118,424.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 168,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,682,001.60. This represents a 2.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,421 shares of company stock valued at $984,405 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

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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