Hollencrest Capital Management Trims Position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Hollencrest Capital Management lowered its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 42.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,425 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 1,034 shares during the quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $57,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $24,888,000. Eventide Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 79.1% in the 3rd quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 452,969 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,677,000 after acquiring an additional 200,000 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 18.3% in the third 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. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 29.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 593,528 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $37,576,000 after acquiring an additional 136,729 shares during the period. Finally, Sphera Funds Management LTD. purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $8,424,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

VKTX stock opened at $29.55 on Thursday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.41 and a 12 month high of $89.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a PE ratio of -29.55 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.20.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released 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 in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.25) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VKTX. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Maxim Group reduced their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.31.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $101,170,867.50. This trade represents a 7.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $2,150,709.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 165,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,064,822.25. This trade represents a 23.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 299,014 shares of company stock valued at $12,782,849 over the last quarter. Insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

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.