Schroder Investment Management Group Lowers Stock Holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Schroder Investment Management Group decreased its stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 39.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 59,994 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 39,592 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group owned about 0.05% of Viking Therapeutics worth $2,386,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. S.A. Mason LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,800 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Viking Therapeutics by 75.9% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 716 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its position in Viking Therapeutics by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 4,980 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 28,929 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,164,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 24.1% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 2,165 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company's stock.

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Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ VKTX traded down $1.97 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $21.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,131,979 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,960,916. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.21 and a beta of 0.84. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.92 and a 1-year high of $81.86. The company's 50-day moving average is $28.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.77.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.25) earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan bought 1,240 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $24.15 per share, for a total transaction of $29,946.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,240 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,946. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 4.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. 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 note on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Maxim Group dropped their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $89.75.

Viking Therapeutics 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.