XTX Topco Ltd Reduces Stock Position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

XTX Topco Ltd lessened its stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 91.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,122 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 44,350 shares during the quarter. XTX Topco Ltd’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VKTX. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC increased its position in Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% during the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 5.9% during the third quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 4,306 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 84.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 553 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 18.0 %

Shares of VKTX stock opened at $38.28 on Thursday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.23 and a 52 week high of $99.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $58.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.27 billion, a PE ratio of -41.16 and a beta of 0.88.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.23) EPS. Analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director Lawson Macartney sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.67, for a total transaction of $137,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 47,965 shares in the company, valued at $3,293,756.55. The trade was a 4.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 216,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.83, for a total transaction of $15,308,487.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,304,927 shares in the company, valued at $163,257,979.41. The trade was a 8.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 371,117 shares of company stock worth $27,140,009. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VKTX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $138.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. B. Riley initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $109.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $106.75.

About Viking Therapeutics

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.