LPL Financial LLC Increases Stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

LPL Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 18.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 96,702 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,873 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Viking Therapeutics worth $3,891,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. S.A. Mason LLC grew its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,800 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in 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 during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 7.4% in the fourth 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 period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of 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 period. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VKTX opened at $21.52 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $27.91 and its 200 day moving average is $43.49. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.92 and a 1 year high of $81.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.42 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.52 and a beta of 0.84.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.25) EPS. On average, analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan purchased 1,240 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $24.15 per share, for a total transaction of $29,946.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 1,240 shares in the company, valued at $29,946. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on VKTX shares. Maxim Group decreased their price objective 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 reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $96.00 price target (down previously from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

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.