Kennedy Capital Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Kennedy Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 44.8% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 56,171 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 45,517 shares during the quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $4,606,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VKTX. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 370.7% in the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 353 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. LifeSteps Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at $61,000. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VKTX traded down $4.73 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $56.52. 5,271,990 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,855,833. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -61.82 and a beta of 1.03. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $8.28 and a 52-week high of $99.41. The company’s 50-day moving average is $55.60 and its 200-day moving average is $56.98.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.06. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.19) EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VKTX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Raymond James increased their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, June 17th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com raised Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Maxim Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.78.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, CFO Greg Zante sold 66,756 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.69, for a total transaction of $4,986,005.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 174,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,059,845.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Greg Zante sold 66,756 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.69, for a total transaction of $4,986,005.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 174,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,059,845.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 281,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.66, for a total value of $22,136,890.50. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 348,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,413,639.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

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.