Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Holdings Cut by Profit Investment Management LLC

Profit Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 48.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 96,081 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 90,841 shares during the quarter. Viking Therapeutics makes up about 4.5% of Profit Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Profit Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Viking Therapeutics worth $7,879,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 194.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 765,320 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $8,472,000 after purchasing an additional 505,578 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 73.1% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 359,585 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,981,000 after buying an additional 151,826 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 318,288 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,523,000 after acquiring an additional 37,549 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 864,589 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $9,571,000 after acquiring an additional 38,695 shares during the period. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $148,000. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on VKTX. BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Maxim Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus restated a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, March 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $112.38.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of VKTX stock traded up $2.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $52.74. 7,224,697 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,986,334. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $8.28 and a 12 month high of $99.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $64.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.82 billion, a PE ratio of -56.71 and a beta of 1.04.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by $0.01. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.25) EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Greg Zante sold 66,756 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.69, for a total transaction of $4,986,005.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 174,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,059,845.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Viking Therapeutics news, CFO Greg Zante sold 66,756 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.69, for a total transaction of $4,986,005.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 174,854 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,059,845.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 281,425 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.66, for a total value of $22,136,890.50. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 348,508 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,413,639.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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