291,318 Shares in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Purchased by Fiera Capital Corp

Fiera Capital Corp acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 291,318 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $18,443,000. Fiera Capital Corp owned approximately 0.26% of Viking Therapeutics at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at $294,380,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 44.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,785,724 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $638,429,000 after buying an additional 2,403,820 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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. Hood River Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth $55,098,000. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth $54,295,000. Institutional investors own 76.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright increased their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $90.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $138.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Viking Therapeutics to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $109.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Brian Lian sold 112,870 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.80, for a total value of $7,426,846.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,354,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $154,954,196.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Brian Lian sold 112,870 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.80, for a total value of $7,426,846.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,354,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $154,954,196.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 131,687 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.61, for a total value of $10,088,541.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 149,366 shares in the company, valued at $11,442,929.26. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 527,473 shares of company stock valued at $37,225,498. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company's stock.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Viking Therapeutics stock traded down $0.37 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $68.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,880,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,505,156. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $64.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.89. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $9.34 and a 52-week high of $99.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -73.63 and a beta of 1.00.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.23) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.