HighMark Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

HighMark Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 42.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,260 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,260 shares during the period. HighMark Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $171,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VKTX. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC increased its position in Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, CNB Bank purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $2,317,691.25. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 374,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,994,228.50. This trade represents a 12.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $2,150,709.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 165,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,064,822.25. This represents a 23.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 299,014 shares of company stock valued at $12,782,849 over the last quarter. Insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James raised their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. Maxim Group lowered their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.29.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

VKTX stock opened at $30.48 on Tuesday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.64 and a twelve month high of $99.41. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.65.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) EPS 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) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Viking Therapeutics 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.