J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Makes New $552,000 Investment in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 13,710 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $552,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. S.A. Mason LLC lifted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,800 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 75.9% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 716 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 4,980 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 28,929 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,164,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the period. Finally, Activest Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 24.1% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 2,165 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on VKTX shares. Maxim Group dropped their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James lifted their target price on 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 dropped their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, B. Riley restated a "buy" rating and issued a $96.00 price objective (down from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $89.75.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan purchased 1,240 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $24.15 per share, for a total transaction of $29,946.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 1,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,946. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of VKTX stock opened at $25.84 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.19. The company has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a PE ratio of -25.84 and a beta of 0.84. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.92 and a twelve month high of $81.86.

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

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