WINTON GROUP Ltd Sells 44,938 Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX

WINTON GROUP Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 65.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,762 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 44,938 shares during the quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $836,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VKTX. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 13.0% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 347,716 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $8,396,000 after acquiring an additional 39,886 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at approximately $230,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 1.4% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 470,028 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $11,351,000 after acquiring an additional 6,696 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $196,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings 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 valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $83.00 price objective for the company. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Viking Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.60.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 0.0%

NASDAQ VKTX opened at $29.23 on Wednesday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.96 and a 12 month high of $43.15. The stock has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.06 and a beta of 0.69. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $32.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.99.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.37) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.01) by ($0.36). During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.41) earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -4.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Viking Therapeutics 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.