Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX

Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC raised its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 52.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 638,204 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 220,396 shares during the quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC owned approximately 0.57% of Viking Therapeutics worth $16,912,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 659.7% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 17,755 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $471,000 after purchasing an additional 15,418 shares in the last quarter. Diadema Partners LP raised its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 28.1% in the 2nd quarter. Diadema Partners LP now owns 197,468 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,233,000 after acquiring an additional 43,347 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 9.2% in the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 135,360 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,587,000 after purchasing an additional 11,349 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $664,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $12,201,000. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of Viking Therapeutics stock opened at $37.21 on Friday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.92 and a 1 year high of $49.67. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $35.66 and its 200 day moving average is $31.29. The stock has a market cap of $4.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.55 and a beta of 0.65.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.81) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.67) by ($0.14). The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.22) EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Viking Therapeutics news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 6,185 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $216,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 382,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,386,345. This trade represents a 1.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Charles A. Rowland, Jr. sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.57, for a total value of $2,134,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 30,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,067,100. This represents a 66.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 111,359 shares of company stock valued at $3,932,155 in the last quarter. Insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. B. Riley upgraded Viking Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 24th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.14.

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.