Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX Holdings Decreased by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp reduced its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 14.6% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 442,675 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 75,623 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $11,731,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 1,621.4% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,205 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,135 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 33.4% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,818 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 455 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 571.4% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,041 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 1,737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Flaharty Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the first quarter worth about $56,000. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 38,989 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.01, for a total value of $1,365,004.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,419,109 shares in the company, valued at $84,693,006.09. This represents a 1.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 6,185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $216,475.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 382,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,386,345. The trade was a 1.59% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 111,359 shares of company stock worth $3,932,155. 4.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on VKTX shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. B. Riley upgraded Viking Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, September 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.14.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

VKTX opened at $37.76 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $32.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.33. The stock has a market cap of $4.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.81 and a beta of 0.64. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.92 and a 12 month high of $56.25.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.81) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.67) by ($0.14). The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.22) earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

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.