IFP Advisors Inc Boosts Holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 107.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 42,124 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 21,825 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $1,697,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% during the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. S.A. Mason LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

VKTX opened at $27.82 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $35.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.52. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $27.20 and a one year high of $99.41. The stock has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.82 and a beta of 0.90.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.25) earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VKTX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $96.00 price objective (down previously from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Maxim Group reduced their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 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 $2,317,691.25. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 374,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,994,228.50. This trade represents a 12.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of the business’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 value of $8,314,447.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,366,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,170,867.50. The trade was a 7.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 299,014 shares of company stock valued at $12,782,849. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Viking Therapeutics Company 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.