Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Decreases Stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ cut its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 27.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,746 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 7,672 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $824,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $24,888,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in Viking Therapeutics by 137.0% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 375,222 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $15,099,000 after purchasing an additional 216,873 shares during the period. Eventide Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 79.1% during the 3rd quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 452,969 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $28,677,000 after buying an additional 200,000 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised 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 buying an additional 143,675 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 29.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 593,528 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $37,576,000 after buying an additional 136,729 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Viking Therapeutics news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $2,317,691.25. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 374,134 shares in the company, valued at $15,994,228.50. The trade was a 12.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $8,314,447.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,366,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,170,867.50. This trade represents a 7.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 299,014 shares of company stock worth $12,782,849. 4.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VKTX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Scotiabank started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $96.00 price objective (down previously from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.67.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 3.4 %

Shares of Viking Therapeutics stock opened at $29.83 on Tuesday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.41 and a 52 week high of $89.10. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.41. The company has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.83 and a beta of 0.90.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.25) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

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.