Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Position Boosted by Advisory Services Network LLC

Advisory Services Network LLC raised its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 36.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,470 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 9,198 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $1,387,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VKTX. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 75.9% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 716 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. FIL Ltd increased its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 116.8% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,203 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 170.2% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 851 shares during the period. Finally, S.A. Mason LLC raised its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 20.0% in the 4th 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. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 3.3 %

Shares of Viking Therapeutics stock opened at $22.22 on Friday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.92 and a 12 month high of $81.86. The stock has a market cap of $2.50 billion, a PE ratio of -22.22 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.20.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.25) earnings per share. Analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan acquired 1,240 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $24.15 per share, for a total transaction of $29,946.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 1,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,946. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VKTX has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. Maxim Group reduced their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $96.00 target price (down from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

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.