Sterling Capital Management LLC Sells 35,290 Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Sterling Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 87.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,073 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 35,290 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $204,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 75.9% in the fourth 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. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. FIL Ltd raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 116.8% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,203 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 170.2% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 851 shares during the period. Finally, S.A. Mason LLC boosted 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 valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on VKTX shares. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $96.00 price objective (down previously from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Maxim Group reduced 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ VKTX opened at $23.94 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $26.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.70. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.92 and a 1 year high of $81.86. The firm has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.94 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) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.25) EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan bought 1,240 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $24.15 per share, for a total transaction of $29,946.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,946. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

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.