Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 618,469 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $24,888,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.55% of Viking Therapeutics as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,715,000. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 122.4% during the fourth quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 80,602 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,243,000 after purchasing an additional 44,365 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 103.1% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 42,612 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,715,000 after buying an additional 21,627 shares in the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $475,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $528,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan acquired 1,240 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $24.15 per share, for a total transaction of $29,946.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,946. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 4.70% of the company's stock.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

VKTX traded up $1.76 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $25.48. 3,544,900 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,045,241. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.86 billion, a P/E ratio of -25.48 and a beta of 0.84. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $18.92 and a one year high of $81.86. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $26.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.30.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.25) EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on VKTX shares. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. Maxim Group decreased their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James boosted their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $89.75.

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.