Insider Buying: Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Director Buys 1,240 Shares of Stock

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan purchased 1,240 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $24.15 per share, with a total value of $29,946.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,946. This represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 6.6 %

NASDAQ VKTX opened at $22.62 on Friday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.53 and a 1 year high of $81.86. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $29.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.32. The company has a market cap of $2.54 billion, a PE ratio of -22.62 and a beta of 0.84.

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 last year, the business earned ($0.25) earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VKTX. S.A. Mason LLC increased its position in Viking Therapeutics by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,800 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 75.9% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 716 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 4,980 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 28,929 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,164,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the period. Finally, Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 24.1% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 2,165 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on VKTX shares. Scotiabank started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Maxim Group lowered their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and set a $96.00 price objective (down previously from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.18.

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.