Royal Bank of Canada Decreases Stock Position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX

Royal Bank of Canada trimmed its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 12.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 397,968 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 57,450 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.34% of Viking Therapeutics worth $12,951,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VKTX. Rock Springs Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth $3,124,000. Eversept Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at about $7,781,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 12.0% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 27,196 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $885,000 after acquiring an additional 2,924 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 19.4% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 41,082 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,337,000 after acquiring an additional 6,688 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Granahan Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 41.0% in the first quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC now owns 332,192 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $10,810,000 after acquiring an additional 96,606 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VKTX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Truist Financial started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $83.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 18,217 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.47, for a total transaction of $609,722.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 422,760 shares in the company, valued at $14,149,777.20. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 21,217 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.47, for a total value of $710,132.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 212,204 shares in the company, valued at $7,102,467.88. The trade was a 9.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 187,951 shares of company stock valued at $6,268,442 over the last quarter. Insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VKTX opened at $34.26 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $34.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.99. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.96 and a 1-year high of $43.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.35 and a beta of 0.69.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.10) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.21) by $0.11. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.58) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Viking Therapeutics

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.