Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Position Increased by HighMark Wealth Management LLC

HighMark Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 9.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,660 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 400 shares during the quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $113,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at $51,464,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 446.7% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,357,241 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $54,615,000 after buying an additional 1,108,972 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 228.5% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,479,596 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $59,540,000 after buying an additional 1,029,125 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at $24,888,000. Finally, Man Group plc raised its position in Viking Therapeutics by 3,373.4% during the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 448,732 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $18,057,000 after buying an additional 435,813 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on 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 Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (down previously from $95.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 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 assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan bought 1,240 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 1,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,946. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Viking Therapeutics stock opened at $28.17 on Friday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $18.92 and a one year high of $81.73. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $27.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.61. The company has a market capitalization of $3.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.50 and a beta of 0.65.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.31) by ($0.10). During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.26) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current 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.