Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 628,764 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 35,236 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.56% of Viking Therapeutics worth $25,301,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VKTX. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $26,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $56,000. Finally, S.A. Mason LLC lifted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,800 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 374,134 shares in the company, valued at $15,994,228.50. The trade was a 12.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $2,150,709.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 165,259 shares in the company, valued at $7,064,822.25. This represents a 23.34 % 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. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company's stock.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of Viking Therapeutics stock traded down $4.87 on Monday, reaching $29.20. 8,921,003 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,594,593. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $35.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.89. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $28.64 and a 1-year high of $99.41. The company has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -29.20 and a beta of 0.90.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.25) EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $96.00 price target (down from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. Maxim Group lowered their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $97.29.

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.