Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. Has $2.15 Million Stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 109.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,023 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,754 shares during the quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $2,154,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VKTX. Blue Trust Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter worth $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 84.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 553 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VKTX traded up $0.92 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $50.80. The stock had a trading volume of 2,673,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,122,823. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $61.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -54.62 and a beta of 0.88. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.70 and a 1-year high of $99.41.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.23) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.97 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on VKTX shares. Piper Sandler started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $74.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Viking Therapeutics to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $138.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $106.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Brian Lian sold 216,130 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.83, for a total transaction of $15,308,487.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,304,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $163,257,979.41. This trade represents a 8.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 131,687 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.61, for a total value of $10,088,541.07. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 149,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,442,929.26. The trade was a 46.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 371,117 shares of company stock valued at $27,140,009 over the last 90 days. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.