Renaissance Technologies LLC Purchases New Holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 159,400 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,450,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.14% of Viking Therapeutics at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 48.3% in the second quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 19,198 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,017,000 after purchasing an additional 6,251 shares in the last quarter. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $225,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 237.2% during the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 57,330 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,004,000 after acquiring an additional 40,330 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 140.8% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 802 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 45.7% in the second quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 71,313 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,780,000 after acquiring an additional 22,369 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ:VKTX opened at $61.93 on Wednesday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $8.28 and a one year high of $99.41. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.88. The company has a market cap of $6.83 billion, a PE ratio of -66.59 and a beta of 1.00.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.06. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.19) EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 18,026 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.13, for a total value of $1,029,825.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 362,149 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,689,572.37. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Brian Lian sold 216,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.83, for a total value of $15,308,487.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,304,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $163,257,979.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 18,026 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.13, for a total transaction of $1,029,825.38. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 362,149 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,689,572.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 516,671 shares of company stock worth $33,810,813. Insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. 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. StockNews.com raised Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, June 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $108.60.

Viking Therapeutics 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.