Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC Takes $671,000 Position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 16,678 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $671,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter worth about $240,000. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 296.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 15,190 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $962,000 after acquiring an additional 11,362 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 136,729 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at $92,000. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 557.8% in the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 3,289 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 2,789 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan purchased 1,240 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $24.15 per share, with a total value of $29,946.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,946. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VKTX opened at $24.99 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a PE ratio of -24.99 and a beta of 0.84. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.92 and a 52-week high of $81.86.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.34) by ($0.07). During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.26) earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. 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 report on Friday, February 7th. B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $96.00 price target (down previously from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $89.50.

Viking Therapeutics 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.

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