Raymond James Trust N.A. Makes New $279,000 Investment in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Raymond James Trust N.A. purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTXFree Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,410 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $279,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Oak Ridge Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $837,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 43.5% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 102,324 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $6,478,000 after acquiring an additional 31,011 shares in the last quarter. Nvwm LLC bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth $999,000. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 88.0% in the 3rd quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 36,666 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,322,000 after purchasing an additional 17,159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Viking Therapeutics by 34.1% in the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 38,143 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,415,000 after purchasing an additional 9,699 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of VKTX opened at $54.51 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $6.07 billion, a PE ratio of -57.11 and a beta of 1.00. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $11.55 and a 52-week high of $99.41. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $63.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.91.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTXGet Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.23) EPS. Research analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VKTX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $138.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. B. Riley began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $109.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, September 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten 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 company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $109.73.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Viking Therapeutics

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Brian Lian sold 216,130 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.83, for a total transaction of $15,308,487.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,304,927 shares in the company, valued at $163,257,979.41. This trade represents a 8.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 10,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total transaction of $715,850.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $660,250. The trade was a 52.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 371,117 shares of company stock worth $27,140,009 in the last three months. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX)

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