MML Investors Services LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

MML Investors Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 193.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,352 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 13,409 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $1,288,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of VKTX. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 16.2% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC increased its position in Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management lifted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 5.9% in the 3rd 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 boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 84.3% during the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 553 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 8.4 %

Viking Therapeutics stock traded up $3.21 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $41.49. 7,126,619 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,466,218. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.62 billion, a PE ratio of -44.61 and a beta of 0.88. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $58.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.95. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.23 and a twelve month high of $99.41.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.23) EPS. Analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.97 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CEO Brian Lian sold 216,130 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.83, for a total value of $15,308,487.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,304,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $163,257,979.41. This trade represents a 8.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lawson Macartney sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.67, for a total value of $137,340.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 47,965 shares in the company, valued at $3,293,756.55. The trade was a 4.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 371,117 shares of company stock worth $27,140,009 in the last quarter. 4.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on VKTX shares. Piper Sandler started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $74.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $138.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price 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.