Dana Investment Advisors Inc. Has $1.73 Million Holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 45.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,984 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 20,595 shares during the period. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. owned about 0.06% of Viking Therapeutics worth $1,734,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VKTX. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Viking Therapeutics by 58.4% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the second quarter worth $29,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Avion Wealth raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 1,157.0% in the third quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 1,521 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $53,000. Institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $99.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Matthew W. Foehr sold 16,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.11, for a total transaction of $561,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 132,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,635,783.96. The trade was a 10.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 57,661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.98, for a total transaction of $1,901,659.78. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 409,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,495,086.20. This represents a 12.35% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 364,731 shares of company stock valued at $12,053,627 in the last three months. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

VKTX opened at $33.12 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.44. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.92 and a fifty-two week high of $43.15. The company has a market cap of $3.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.42 and a beta of 0.75.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.38) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.89) by ($0.49). During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.32) EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

Viking Therapeutics Company Profile

Viking Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders. Headquartered in San Diego, California, the company’s pipeline leverages small-molecule approaches to target hormone signaling pathways implicated in conditions such as non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes and muscle wasting disorders.

The company’s lead programs include VK2809, a thyroid hormone receptor‐beta agonist designed to reduce liver fat and improve lipid profiles in patients with NASH and dyslipidemia, and VK5211, a selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) aimed at enhancing muscle mass and function in individuals with muscle wasting conditions.