Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Buys Shares of 530,607 Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 530,607 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,699,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Commerce Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the second quarter worth $570,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at $56,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at $111,000. Evolve Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth $241,000. Finally, Emerald Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth $209,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on VKTX shares. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $83.00 price objective for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Zacks Research raised Viking Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 18,217 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.47, for a total value of $609,722.99. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.47, for a total value of $710,132.99. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 212,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,102,467.88. This represents a 9.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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. Corporate insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of VKTX opened at $34.17 on Wednesday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.96 and a 52-week high of $43.15. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.21. The company has a market capitalization of $3.99 billion, a PE ratio of -7.33 and a beta of 0.69.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.10) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.21) by $0.11. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.58) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -4.47 EPS for the current year.

Viking Therapeutics Company 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.