Headlands Technologies LLC Sells 28,982 Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX

Headlands Technologies LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 59.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,164 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 28,982 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $787,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VKTX. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $241,458,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 536.3% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 992,695 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $34,923,000 after purchasing an additional 836,686 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 58.7% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,085,487 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $54,807,000 after purchasing an additional 771,704 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 41.8% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,092,840 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $55,000,000 after buying an additional 616,526 shares during the period. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 6,315.6% during the second quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 596,650 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $15,811,000 after buying an additional 587,350 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 2.7%

NASDAQ:VKTX opened at $33.67 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.23 and a beta of 0.69. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.96 and a 52 week high of $43.15. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $35.63 and a 200 day moving average of $33.39.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.21) by $0.11. Viking Therapeutics’s revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.58) earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -4.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 148,517 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.32, for a total transaction of $4,948,586.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,572,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $85,713,734.12. This represents a 5.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 18,217 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.47, for a total value of $609,722.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 422,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,149,777.20. This trade represents a 4.13% 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 187,951 shares of company stock worth $6,268,442. Insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, July 17th. Lake Street Capital initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, May 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $89.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded Viking Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective 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. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $83.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.62.

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.