Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Has $6.48 Million Holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 43.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 102,324 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 31,011 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. owned about 0.09% of Viking Therapeutics worth $6,478,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of VKTX. Blue Trust Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the second quarter worth $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 84.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 553 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

VKTX traded down $3.31 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $50.26. 5,003,196 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,532,866. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -55.95 and a beta of 1.00. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $10.34 and a one year high of $99.41. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $64.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.60.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.23) EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VKTX has been the subject of several analyst reports. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $90.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com raised Viking Therapeutics to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $138.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Raymond James raised their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $109.80.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.90, for a total transaction of $69,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,354,927 shares in the company, valued at $164,609,397.30. This trade represents a 0.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 16,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.22, for a total transaction of $995,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $591,090. The trade was a 62.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 506,687 shares of company stock valued at $36,029,679 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company's stock.

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.