Alliancebernstein L.P. Increases Stock Holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,115,068 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 81,183 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 1.00% of Viking Therapeutics worth $44,870,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VKTX. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 20.3% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 24,630 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,559,000 after acquiring an additional 4,156 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 109.1% in the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 34,023 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,154,000 after purchasing an additional 17,754 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 80.6% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 7,721 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $489,000 after purchasing an additional 3,446 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter worth approximately $308,000. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $845,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on VKTX. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Raymond James upped their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Maxim Group decreased their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $89.75.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

VKTX traded down $0.06 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $19.92. The stock had a trading volume of 1,348,966 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,939,723. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -19.89 and a beta of 0.84. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.95 and a twelve month high of $81.86. The company's 50-day moving average price is $28.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.21.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.25) EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan bought 1,240 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,240 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,946. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.