Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $37.58 Million Stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 29.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 593,528 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 136,729 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.53% of Viking Therapeutics worth $37,576,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VKTX. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 10,775.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,004,033 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $63,565,000 after purchasing an additional 994,801 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 55.4% during the 3rd quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 1,269,152 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $80,350,000 after acquiring an additional 452,344 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $18,443,000. Eventide Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 79.1% during the 3rd quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 452,969 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $28,677,000 after acquiring an additional 200,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nepsis Inc. acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth $11,251,000. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 0.1 %

Viking Therapeutics stock traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $42.35. The company had a trading volume of 1,059,667 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,464,014. The company has a 50 day moving average of $57.11 and a 200-day moving average of $57.72. The firm has a market cap of $4.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -45.54 and a beta of 0.89. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.23 and a 52 week high of $99.41.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.23) earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on VKTX shares. B. Riley started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $109.00 price target on the stock. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com upgraded Viking Therapeutics to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $106.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director Lawson Macartney sold 2,000 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.67, for a total transaction of $137,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 47,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,293,756.55. The trade was a 4.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 131,687 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.61, for a total transaction of $10,088,541.07. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 149,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,442,929.26. The trade was a 46.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 144,687 shares of company stock valued at $11,115,671. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.