Osterweis Capital Management Inc. Acquires 29,925 Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Osterweis Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 23.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 155,445 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 29,925 shares during the quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.14% of Viking Therapeutics worth $6,255,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $492,000. MML Investors Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 193.1% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 20,352 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,288,000 after acquiring an additional 13,409 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $354,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 51.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 5,416 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $343,000 after buying an additional 1,836 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $240,000. Institutional investors own 76.03% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan bought 1,240 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $24.15 per share, with a total value of $29,946.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,240 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,946. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.70% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on VKTX shares. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. Maxim Group reduced their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $89.75.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 0.7 %

Viking Therapeutics stock traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $24.11. 1,350,809 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,031,952. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $26.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.70. The company has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -24.11 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 earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.25) EPS. On average, analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.