SG Americas Securities LLC Acquires 81,519 Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX

SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 570.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 95,804 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 81,519 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC owned about 0.09% of Viking Therapeutics worth $2,518,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 58.4% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the second quarter worth $28,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the second quarter worth $29,000. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in 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 last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,737 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VKTX. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.14.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Brian Lian sold 233,409 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.96, for a total transaction of $7,693,160.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,499,291 shares in the company, valued at approximately $82,376,631.36. This represents a 8.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Matthew W. Foehr sold 16,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.11, for a total value of $561,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 132,036 shares in the company, valued at $4,635,783.96. This represents a 10.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 476,090 shares of company stock worth $15,985,782. 4.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 3.4%

VKTX opened at $30.69 on Wednesday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.92 and a twelve month high of $43.15. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $35.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.58. The stock has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.48 and a beta of 0.71.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.81) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.67) by ($0.14). During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.22) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current 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.