LJI Wealth Management LLC Has $1.17 Million Holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

LJI Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 39.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,400 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 11,800 shares during the period. LJI Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $1,165,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 16.2% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 5.9% in the third quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 4,306 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 84.3% in the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 553 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 3.1% in the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 12,278 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $651,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VKTX has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $80.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $138.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $90.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $109.80.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, Director Lawson Macartney sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.67, for a total value of $137,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 47,965 shares in the company, valued at $3,293,756.55. This trade represents a 4.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 11,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total transaction of $889,790.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $768,455. This trade represents a 53.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 506,687 shares of company stock valued at $36,029,679. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 7.4 %

VKTX traded down $3.99 on Friday, hitting $49.58. 8,141,474 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,523,631. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $10.34 and a 12 month high of $99.41. The business has a 50-day moving average of $64.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.42.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.23) earnings per share. Analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Viking Therapeutics Company 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.