Cinctive Capital Management LP Increases Position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Cinctive Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 81.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,080 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,204 shares during the quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.06% of Viking Therapeutics worth $4,120,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Oak Ridge Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $837,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its position in Viking Therapeutics by 43.5% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 102,324 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,478,000 after acquiring an additional 31,011 shares during the period. Nvwm LLC purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at $999,000. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 88.0% during the third quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 36,666 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,322,000 after purchasing an additional 17,159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 34.1% in the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 38,143 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,415,000 after purchasing an additional 9,699 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 2.7 %

NASDAQ VKTX opened at $51.51 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.48. The firm has a market cap of $5.74 billion, a PE ratio of -55.39 and a beta of 0.89. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $14.02 and a 52 week high of $99.41.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.23) EPS. Research analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.98 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on VKTX shares. B. Riley started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $109.00 price target for the company. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $138.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $106.75.

Insider Activity

In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 10,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total transaction of $715,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $660,250. This trade represents a 52.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total transaction of $889,790.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,500 shares in the company, valued at $768,455. This trade represents a 53.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 371,117 shares of company stock valued at $27,140,009. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Viking Therapeutics

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.