20,230 Shares in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Bought by Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 20,230 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $814,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 75.9% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 716 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares during the period. Stone House Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. S.A. Mason LLC grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,800 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $75,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on VKTX shares. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Maxim Group reduced their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Scotiabank started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Finally, B. Riley restated a "buy" rating and issued a $96.00 price target (down previously from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $97.67.

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Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 2.1 %

VKTX stock traded up $0.60 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $28.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,480,117 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,970,987. The company has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a PE ratio of -28.95 and a beta of 0.90. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.41 and a 12 month high of $89.10. The firm's 50-day moving average is $31.04 and its 200-day moving average is $47.59.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.25) earnings per share. Analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $2,317,691.25. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 374,134 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,994,228.50. This represents a 12.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $2,150,709.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 165,259 shares in the company, valued at $7,064,822.25. The trade was a 23.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 299,014 shares of company stock valued at $12,782,849. 4.70% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.