Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Lowers Holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc decreased its position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 8.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 412,656 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 39,355 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned approximately 0.37% of Viking Therapeutics worth $16,605,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VKTX. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 75.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 716 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. FIL Ltd boosted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 116.8% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,203 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 170.2% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $63,000. 76.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on VKTX shares. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and issued a $96.00 target price (down previously from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $102.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan acquired 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 completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,946. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VKTX opened at $27.61 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of -27.61 and a beta of 0.75. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.92 and a 52-week high of $81.73.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.31) by ($0.10). During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.26) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 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.