Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust Has $12.85 Million Position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 242,368 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,931 shares during the quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust owned about 0.22% of Viking Therapeutics worth $12,848,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of VKTX. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 370.7% in the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 353 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at about $61,000. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VKTX opened at $54.13 on Friday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $8.28 and a 52-week high of $99.41. The company has a market capitalization of $6.00 billion, a P/E ratio of -58.20 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.46.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.06. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.19) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VKTX. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, June 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, June 17th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.78.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CEO Brian Lian sold 115,859 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.58, for a total transaction of $6,671,161.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,354,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $135,596,696.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 18,026 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.13, for a total transaction of $1,029,825.38. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 362,149 shares in the company, valued at $20,689,572.37. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 115,859 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.58, for a total value of $6,671,161.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,354,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $135,596,696.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 290,241 shares of company stock valued at $17,786,475 in the last quarter. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by 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.