Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Has $29.32 Million Stock Holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 728,652 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 13,055 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.65% of Viking Therapeutics worth $29,321,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Eventide Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 79.1% in the third quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 452,969 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $28,677,000 after purchasing an additional 200,000 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 18.3% in the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 930,370 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $58,902,000 after purchasing an additional 143,675 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Viking Therapeutics by 29.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 593,528 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $37,576,000 after buying an additional 136,729 shares in the last quarter. Sphera Funds Management LTD. acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $8,424,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 218.2% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 158,349 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $10,025,000 after buying an additional 108,581 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Remove Ads

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on VKTX shares. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Maxim Group dropped their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $96.00 price target (down from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $97.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $2,317,691.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 374,134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,994,228.50. The trade was a 12.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $8,314,447.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,366,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,170,867.50. This represents a 7.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 299,014 shares of company stock valued at $12,782,849 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company's stock.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of VKTX traded up $0.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $28.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,081,760 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,961,273. The company has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.94 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a fifty day moving average of $31.24 and a 200 day moving average of $47.91. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $24.41 and a 1 year high of $89.10.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last posted 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 firm earned ($0.25) EPS. On average, analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

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.