Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Buys 21,627 Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 103.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 42,612 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,627 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $1,715,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VKTX. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. Stone House Investment Management LLC increased 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 buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 5.9% in the third quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 4,306 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $273,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 84.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 553 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, Director Lawson Macartney sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.67, for a total value of $137,340.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 47,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,293,756.55. The trade was a 4.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $8,314,447.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,366,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,170,867.50. This represents a 7.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 301,014 shares of company stock valued at $12,920,189. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 2.8 %

VKTX stock opened at $32.75 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.65 billion, a P/E ratio of -35.21 and a beta of 0.95. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.51 and a 52 week high of $99.41. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.58.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, January 17th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. B. Riley initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $109.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.75.

Viking Therapeutics Company Profile

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.