Bank of Montreal Can Has $2.17 Million Stock Holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 548.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,252 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 29,819 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can's holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $2,173,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mirabella Financial Services LLP raised its position in Viking Therapeutics by 21.6% during the third quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP now owns 7,839 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $496,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 5,050 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 828 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 930,370 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $58,902,000 after buying an additional 143,675 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $1,036,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $884,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company's stock.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ VKTX traded up $0.92 during trading on Friday, reaching $50.80. The company had a trading volume of 2,673,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,478,753. The stock has a market cap of $5.66 billion, a P/E ratio of -55.35 and a beta of 0.88. The company's fifty day moving average price is $61.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.11. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.70 and a 12 month high of $99.41.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.23) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director Lawson Macartney sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.67, for a total transaction of $137,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 47,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,293,756.55. This trade represents a 4.00 % decrease in their position. 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 dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,304,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 371,117 shares of company stock valued at $27,140,009. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research 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 research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $138.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.