WINTON GROUP Ltd Buys Shares of 68,700 Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX

Key Points

• WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake of 68,700 shares of Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) in Q3, valued at about $1.805 million, while hedge funds and other institutions own roughly 76.03% of the stock.
• Viking missed quarterly EPS at −$1.38 versus a −$0.89 consensus (a $0.49 miss); analysts expect −$1.56 for the year and the stock trades around $34.66 with a $4.0 billion market cap and a 52‑week range of $18.92–$43.15.
• Insiders sold 364,731 shares worth $12.05 million in the last quarter (including sizable sales by a director and the COO), leaving insiders with about 4.10% ownership.

WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 68,700 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,805,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd owned 0.06% of Viking Therapeutics as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 58.4% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Avion Wealth grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 1,157.0% during the 3rd quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 1,521 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 3.1%

VKTX opened at $34.66 on Wednesday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $31.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.35. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.92 and a 52 week high of $43.15. The stock has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a PE ratio of -10.90 and a beta of 0.75.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.38) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.89) by ($0.49). During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.32) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, Director Matthew W. Foehr sold 16,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.11, for a total value of $561,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 132,036 shares in the company, valued at $4,635,783.96. The trade was a 10.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 57,661 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.98, for a total value of $1,901,659.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 409,190 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,495,086.20. This represents a 12.35% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 364,731 shares of company stock worth $12,053,627 in the last quarter. 4.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VKTX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research upgraded Viking Therapeutics from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. BTIG Research upgraded Viking Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $99.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $87.80.

Viking Therapeutics Company Profile

Viking Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders. Headquartered in San Diego, California, the company's pipeline leverages small-molecule approaches to target hormone signaling pathways implicated in conditions such as non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes and muscle wasting disorders.

The company's lead programs include VK2809, a thyroid hormone receptor‐beta agonist designed to reduce liver fat and improve lipid profiles in patients with NASH and dyslipidemia, and VK5211, a selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) aimed at enhancing muscle mass and function in individuals with muscle wasting conditions.

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