Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX Shares Acquired by Wesbanco Bank Inc.

Key Points

• Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. by 118.5% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 52,000 shares valued at approximately $1.38 million.
• Viking Therapeutics' stock has seen a recent decline of 2.9%, with a current market capitalization of $2.71 billion and a PE ratio of -15.74.
• Analysts have varying perspectives on Viking Therapeutics, with Citigroup raising its price target to $38, while HC Wainwright maintains a "buy" rating with a target of $102.

Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 118.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 52,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 28,200 shares during the quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc.'s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $1,378,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. HighMark Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,660 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 14,470 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 6,911 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares during the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 18,729 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 64.8% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,363 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CFO Greg Zante sold 4,266 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.76, for a total transaction of $118,424.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 168,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,682,001.60. The trade was a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 26,889 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.80, for a total value of $747,514.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,388,014 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $66,386,789.20. This trade represents a 1.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,421 shares of company stock worth $984,405. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of VKTX stock traded down $0.64 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $25.40. The company had a trading volume of 7,269,115 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,583,704. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.92 and a 52-week high of $81.73. The stock has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.60 and a beta of 0.73. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $30.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.09.

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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.20) earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VKTX has been the subject of several analyst reports. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Citigroup increased their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered their price target 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $87.50.

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.