Legal & General Group Plc Invests $3.82 Million in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX

Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 97,884 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,818,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 17,580 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $466,000 after buying an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 9,365 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $329,000 after buying an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 13.6% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,870 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 29.5% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,109 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise grew its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 16.7% during the third quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 3,752 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $98,000 after acquiring an additional 536 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VKTX opened at $34.87 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $35.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.46. The stock has a market cap of $4.07 billion, a PE ratio of -7.48 and a beta of 0.69. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $22.96 and a one year high of $43.15.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.10) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.21) by $0.11. Viking Therapeutics’s revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.58) EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on VKTX. Lake Street Capital initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $89.00 target price on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $83.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.62.

Insider Activity

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CEO Brian Lian sold 148,517 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 owned 2,572,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $85,713,734.12. This trade represents a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 the firm’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 212,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,102,467.88. The trade was a 9.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 187,951 shares of company stock valued at $6,268,442. 5.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.