Tidal Investments LLC Takes $2.37 Million Position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Tidal Investments LLC bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 28,873 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,373,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 370.7% during the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 353 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Maxim Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, June 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price objective 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 report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.78.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

VKTX stock traded down $2.99 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $51.66. The company had a trading volume of 684,501 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,807,028. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.28 and a 52 week high of $99.41. The company has a market capitalization of $5.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -55.55 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.21.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.06. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.19) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.99 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 115,859 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were 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 approximately $135,596,696.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Viking Therapeutics news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 18,026 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.13, for a total transaction of $1,029,825.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 362,149 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,689,572.37. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 115,859 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.58, for a total transaction of $6,671,161.22. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. 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.