Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Has $1.39 Million Position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC decreased its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 50.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,509 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 34,994 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC's holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $1,389,000 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. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 0.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,619,430 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,052,176,000 after acquiring an additional 79,149 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd raised its position in Viking Therapeutics by 55.4% in the 3rd quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 1,269,152 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $80,350,000 after purchasing an additional 452,344 shares during the last quarter. Braidwell LP lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 1,156,977 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $73,248,000 after buying an additional 50,072 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 10,775.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,004,033 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $63,565,000 after buying an additional 994,801 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 930,370 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $58,902,000 after buying an additional 143,675 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.03% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Lawson Macartney sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.67, for a total transaction of $137,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 47,965 shares in the company, valued at $3,293,756.55. This represents a 4.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $2,317,691.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 374,134 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,994,228.50. The trade was a 12.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 301,014 shares of company stock worth $12,920,189. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company's stock.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of VKTX traded up $0.86 on Tuesday, hitting $34.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,354,913 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,697,808. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $43.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.04. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.26 and a fifty-two week high of $99.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -36.90 and a beta of 0.95.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on VKTX shares. StockNews.com upgraded Viking Therapeutics to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $74.00 price target for the company. B. Riley started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $109.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $106.75.

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.