3,640 Shares in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Acquired by PFG Investments LLC

PFG Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 3,640 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $230,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VKTX. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at approximately $294,380,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 44.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,785,724 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $638,429,000 after acquiring an additional 2,403,820 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 10,775.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,004,033 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $63,565,000 after purchasing an additional 994,801 shares during the period. Hood River Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth about $55,098,000. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth about $54,295,000. Institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of VKTX stock opened at $71.75 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $64.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.74. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $9.32 and a 12-month high of $99.41. The firm has a market cap of $7.91 billion, a P/E ratio of -77.15 and a beta of 1.00.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.23) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 1,000 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.90, for a total value of $69,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,354,927 shares in the company, valued at $164,609,397.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Brian Lian sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.90, for a total transaction of $69,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,354,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $164,609,397.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total value of $889,790.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $768,455. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 525,473 shares of company stock valued at $37,088,158. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VKTX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $108.60.

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.