Shelton Wealth Management LLC Purchases New Stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Shelton Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 22,199 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $893,000.

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

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

VKTX traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $32.65. The stock had a trading volume of 4,363,202 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,051,237. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $46.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a P/E ratio of -35.11 and a beta of 0.95. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.47 and a 52 week high of $99.41.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. As a group, analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, 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 transaction of $10,088,541.07. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 149,366 shares in the company, valued at $11,442,929.26. The trade was a 46.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 11,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total transaction of $889,790.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $768,455. The trade was a 53.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 443,701 shares of company stock worth $23,898,520. Insiders own 4.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VKTX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. 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 on the stock. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $138.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. B. Riley initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $109.00 price objective for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $106.75.

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.