Lisanti Capital Growth LLC Invests $1.14 Million in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX

Lisanti Capital Growth LLC bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 42,835 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,135,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 14,961 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $396,000 after buying an additional 326 shares during the period. Lewis Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC now owns 44,060 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,168,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 14,470 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $349,000 after buying an additional 446 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 33.4% during the second 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 7.5% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 6,911 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $167,000 after buying an additional 484 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

VKTX stock opened at $36.77 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $30.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.73. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.92 and a 52-week high of $70.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.34 and a beta of 0.64.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.22) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 6,185 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $216,475.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 382,467 shares in the company, valued at $13,386,345. This represents a 1.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 6,185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $216,475.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 173,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,075,720. This trade represents a 3.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 111,359 shares of company stock worth $3,932,155. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VKTX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. B. Riley raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Raymond James Financial dropped their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, September 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.07.

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.