Cornerstone Capital Inc. Buys Shares of 85,470 Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX

by · The Cerbat Gem

Cornerstone Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX – Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 85,470 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,334,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 21.6% during the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 43,400 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,693,000 after acquiring an additional 7,700 shares in the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $341,000. Ballast Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. PVG Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 69.7% during the first quarter. PVG Asset Management Corp now owns 19,853 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $588,000 after purchasing an additional 8,154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 32.6% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 14,020 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $456,000 after purchasing an additional 3,447 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, CFO Greg Zante sold 21,217 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.47, for a total transaction of $710,132.99. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 212,204 shares in the company, valued at $7,102,467.88. The trade was a 9.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.47, for a total value of $609,722.99. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 422,760 shares in the company, valued at $14,149,777.20. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 187,951 shares of company stock valued at $6,268,442 in the last 90 days. 5.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of Viking Therapeutics stock opened at $33.19 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $34.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.12 and a beta of 0.69. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.96 and a fifty-two week high of $43.15.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX – Get Free Report) last announced 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. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.58) EPS. Viking Therapeutics’s quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VKTX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered Viking Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 price objective on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $83.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.62.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Viking Therapeutics

Viking Therapeutics Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

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