Hsbc Holdings PLC Acquires New Holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX

Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 15,751 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $646,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ballast Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at $33,000. Quattro Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 169.2% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,077 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 677 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter worth $50,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter worth $53,000. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VKTX has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Truist Financial started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $83.00 price target on the stock. Lake Street Capital initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $89.00 price target for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.62.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CEO Brian Lian sold 148,517 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.32, for a total transaction of $4,948,586.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,572,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $85,713,734.12. This trade represents a 5.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 21,217 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.47, for a total value of $710,132.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 212,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,102,467.88. This trade represents a 9.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 187,951 shares of company stock worth $6,268,442 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VKTX opened at $33.50 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $35.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.41. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.96 and a 52-week high of $43.15. The company has a market capitalization of $3.91 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.19 and a beta of 0.69.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.10) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.21) by $0.11. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.58) EPS. Viking Therapeutics’s quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

About Viking Therapeutics

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.