Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Has $1.39 Million Stock Holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lowered its position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 50.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 34,509 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 34,994 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $1,389,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Activity

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,366,570 shares in the company, valued at $101,170,867.50. The trade was a 7.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $2,317,691.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 374,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,994,228.50. This represents a 12.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 301,014 shares of company stock worth $12,920,189. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of VKTX opened at $33.46 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $43.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.21. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.26 and a 12-month high of $99.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -35.98 and a beta of 0.95.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.