Crewe Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Crewe Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 49.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,322 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 8,044 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $335,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 16.2% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management boosted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 4,306 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, S.A. Mason LLC raised its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,800 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VKTX opened at $33.50 on Thursday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.11 and a 52-week high of $99.41. The business’s 50 day moving average is $40.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.17.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.25) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $2,150,709.75. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 165,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,064,822.25. This represents a 23.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $2,317,691.25. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 374,134 shares in the company, valued at $15,994,228.50. This represents a 12.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 301,014 shares of company stock worth $12,920,189. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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