Chartwell Investment Partners LLC Acquires 17,159 Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Chartwell Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 88.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 36,666 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 17,159 shares during the quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $2,322,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VKTX. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Viking Therapeutics by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the period. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management raised its position in Viking Therapeutics by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 4,306 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 84.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 553 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 12,278 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $651,000 after buying an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VKTX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Viking Therapeutics to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $138.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $90.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $80.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $109.80.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 11,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total value of $889,790.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $768,455. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 16,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.22, for a total transaction of $995,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $591,090. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 11,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total value of $889,790.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,500 shares in the company, valued at $768,455. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 506,687 shares of company stock valued at $36,029,679. 4.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of VKTX stock traded down $5.54 on Wednesday, reaching $55.06. 6,887,557 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,533,541. The company has a 50-day moving average of $64.72 and a 200-day moving average of $61.66. The company has a market cap of $6.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -59.20 and a beta of 1.00. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $10.34 and a one year high of $99.41.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.23) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.98 EPS for the current year.

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.