Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stake Lessened by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA trimmed its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,237,093 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 124,417 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned about 1.11% of Viking Therapeutics worth $49,781,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 2.7% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 28,251 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,789,000 after buying an additional 748 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 715,597 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $45,304,000 after acquiring an additional 44,122 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 129,345 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $8,189,000 after acquiring an additional 15,557 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $884,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 548.8% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 35,252 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,173,000 after purchasing an additional 29,819 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Raymond James raised their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Maxim Group reduced their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, B. Riley restated a "buy" rating and set a $96.00 price objective (down from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $95.18.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 6.8 %

NASDAQ VKTX traded up $1.62 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $25.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,073,567 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,892,358. The stock has a market cap of $2.87 billion, a PE ratio of -25.50 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.92. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.27 and a 52 week high of $81.86.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.25) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $2,317,691.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 374,134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,994,228.50. The trade was a 12.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $8,314,447.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,366,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,170,867.50. This represents a 7.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 299,014 shares of company stock worth $12,782,849. Insiders own 4.70% of the company's stock.

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.