Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Bought by Altium Capital Management LLC

Altium Capital Management LLC increased its position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 15.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 146,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 20,000 shares during the quarter. Viking Therapeutics comprises approximately 1.7% of Altium Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Altium Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Viking Therapeutics worth $5,875,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. S.A. Mason LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,800 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 75.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 716 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 309 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 4,980 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $221,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 28,929 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,164,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the period. Finally, Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 24.1% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 2,165 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VKTX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Maxim Group reduced their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan bought 1,240 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $24.15 per share, for a total transaction of $29,946.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,946. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of VKTX stock opened at $23.94 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a PE ratio of -23.94 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $27.06 and a 200-day moving average of $42.27. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $18.92 and a one year high of $81.86.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted its 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 business posted ($0.25) EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

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.