DNB Asset Management AS Boosts Holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

DNB Asset Management AS grew its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 23.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,154 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,725 shares during the period. DNB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $485,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 370.7% in the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 353 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. LifeSteps Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth about $61,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 125.6% in the 1st quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,015 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 115,859 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.58, for a total transaction of $6,671,161.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,354,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $135,596,696.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Zante Greg 16,136 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 115,859 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.58, for a total value of $6,671,161.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,354,927 shares in the company, valued at $135,596,696.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ VKTX traded down $0.54 on Wednesday, reaching $52.79. The company had a trading volume of 96,341 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,768,689. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.85 billion, a PE ratio of -57.34 and a beta of 1.03. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.28 and a 1 year high of $99.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $54.54 and a 200-day moving average of $58.38.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.06. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.19) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on VKTX shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $105.00 target price for the company. Maxim Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.78.

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.