Sterling Capital Management LLC Has $204,000 Holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Sterling Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 87.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,073 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 35,290 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $204,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VKTX. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 75.9% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 716 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. FIL Ltd boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 116.8% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,203 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 170.2% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 851 shares during the period. Finally, S.A. Mason LLC increased its position 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 valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan purchased 1,240 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $24.15 per share, with a total value of $29,946.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,946. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company's stock.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ VKTX traded up $1.76 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $25.48. 3,544,900 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,035,306. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.92 and a fifty-two week high of $81.86. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $26.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.41. 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 (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.25) EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on VKTX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $102.00 target price for the company. Raymond James upped their price objective 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, B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $96.00 price target (down previously from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company 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.