Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Increases Stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 13.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,446 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,611 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $735,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,715,438 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $672,629,000 after acquiring an additional 96,008 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,880,713 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $75,704,000 after purchasing an additional 17,046 shares in the last quarter. Braidwell LP raised its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 27.9% in the 4th quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 1,479,666 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $59,542,000 after purchasing an additional 322,689 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 228.5% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,479,596 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $59,540,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029,125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $24,888,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 0.1%

VKTX opened at $34.03 on Wednesday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.92 and a twelve month high of $81.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.83 billion, a PE ratio of -22.24 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $29.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.53.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.58) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by ($0.14). The firm’s quarterly revenue was up NaN% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.20) earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 4,266 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.77, for a total transaction of $118,466.82. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 377,535 shares in the company, valued at $10,484,146.95. The trade was a 1.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 4,266 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.76, for a total transaction of $118,424.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 168,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,682,001.60. The trade was a 2.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,421 shares of company stock valued at $984,405. Insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VKTX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price target for the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price (down previously from $95.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.92.

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.