Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Bought by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 22,823 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 646 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $1,445,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at $243,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 0.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,619,430 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,052,176,000 after acquiring an additional 79,149 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 20.3% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 24,630 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,559,000 after acquiring an additional 4,156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 548.8% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 35,252 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,173,000 after acquiring an additional 29,819 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CEO Brian Lian sold 216,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.83, for a total transaction of $15,308,487.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,304,927 shares in the company, valued at $163,257,979.41. This trade represents a 8.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 10,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total value of $715,850.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $660,250. This trade represents a 52.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 371,117 shares of company stock worth $27,140,009. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Viking Therapeutics stock opened at $51.24 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $61.91 and its 200-day moving average is $59.23. The company has a market cap of $5.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -55.10 and a beta of 0.88. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $14.82 and a 12 month high of $99.41.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.23) EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.98 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on VKTX shares. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. B. Riley initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $109.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $138.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $106.75.

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.