Royal Fund Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Royal Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 246.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,182 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 31,438 shares during the quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC's holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $1,778,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter worth $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Stone House Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 84.3% in the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 553 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VKTX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $138.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $74.00 price objective on the stock. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, B. Riley initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $109.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $106.75.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

VKTX stock traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $32.87. The company had a trading volume of 7,726,927 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,819,065. The firm has a market cap of $3.66 billion, a PE ratio of -35.34 and a beta of 0.95. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.83 and a 12 month high of $99.41. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $45.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.80.

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, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.23) earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, Director Lawson Macartney sold 2,000 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were 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 owns 47,965 shares in the company, valued at $3,293,756.55. This trade represents a 4.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 11,000 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total transaction of $889,790.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $768,455. The trade was a 53.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 443,701 shares of company stock worth $23,898,520 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company's stock.

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.