Sphera Funds Management LTD. Invests $8.42 Million in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Sphera Funds Management LTD. bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 133,066 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $8,424,000. Viking Therapeutics comprises about 1.3% of Sphera Funds Management LTD.'s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Sphera Funds Management LTD. owned approximately 0.12% of Viking Therapeutics as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Stone House Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% in the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Lawson Macartney sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.67, for a total value of $137,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 47,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,293,756.55. This represents a 4.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 216,130 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.83, for a total value of $15,308,487.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,304,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at $163,257,979.41. The trade was a 8.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 371,117 shares of company stock worth $27,140,009 in the last ninety days. 4.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on VKTX shares. B. Riley started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $109.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $74.00 target price on the stock. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com raised Viking Therapeutics to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $106.75.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 2.7 %

Shares of VKTX traded down $1.36 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $49.88. The company had a trading volume of 2,499,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,488,576. The company has a market capitalization of $5.56 billion, a PE ratio of -55.10 and a beta of 0.88. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $16.70 and a one year high of $99.41. The company's fifty day moving average price is $61.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.18.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.23) earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.97 earnings per share for the current year.

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.