Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Holdings Lessened by Nepsis Inc.

Nepsis Inc. cut its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 89.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,376 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 158,338 shares during the period. Viking Therapeutics makes up about 0.1% of Nepsis Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Nepsis Inc.’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $780,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,619,430 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,052,176,000 after purchasing an additional 79,149 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd raised its position in Viking Therapeutics by 55.4% during the third quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 1,269,152 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $80,350,000 after buying an additional 452,344 shares during the period. Braidwell LP lifted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 1,156,977 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $73,248,000 after acquiring an additional 50,072 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 10,775.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,004,033 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $63,565,000 after acquiring an additional 994,801 shares during the period. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 930,370 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $58,902,000 after acquiring an additional 143,675 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Lawson Macartney sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.67, for a total value of $137,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 47,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,293,756.55. This represents a 4.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $2,150,709.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 165,259 shares in the company, valued at $7,064,822.25. This trade represents a 23.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 432,701 shares of company stock valued at $23,008,730. Insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of Viking Therapeutics stock opened at $34.50 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.39. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.92 and a 1-year high of $99.41.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.23) EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. B. Riley assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $109.00 price target for the company. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $106.75.

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.