Woodline Partners LP Has $7.27 Million Holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX

Key Points

• Woodline Partners LP significantly increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 222.7%, owning a total of 301,078 shares valued at approximately $7.27 million.
• Multiple institutional investors have also shown interest in Viking Therapeutics, with reported increases in their holdings ranging from 20.4% to 644% during the first quarter.
• Insider trading activities included CFO Greg Zante and CEO Brian Lian selling shares, resulting in a noticeable decrease in their ownership percentages of 2.47% and 1.11%, respectively.

Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 222.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 301,078 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 207,784 shares during the quarter. Woodline Partners LP owned 0.27% of Viking Therapeutics worth $7,271,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP increased its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 1,621.4% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,205 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,135 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 64.8% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,363 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 222,100.0% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 2,222 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 2,221 shares during the last quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth about $56,000. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 1,242.9% in the 1st quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC now owns 2,350 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 2,175 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.03% of the company's stock.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 3.6%

NASDAQ VKTX traded down $0.93 on Friday, hitting $24.81. 4,040,384 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,483,938. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $31.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.21. The company has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.22 and a beta of 0.73. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.92 and a 1-year high of $81.73.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up NaN% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.20) EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Greg Zante sold 4,266 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.76, for a total transaction of $118,424.16. Following the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 4,266 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.77, for a total transaction of $118,466.82. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 377,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,484,146.95. This trade represents a 1.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,421 shares of company stock worth $984,405 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of 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 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $87.50.

Viking Therapeutics Company 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.