Fmr LLC Grows Position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

FMR LLC boosted its stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 16,715,438 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 96,008 shares during the period. FMR LLC owned 15.00% of Viking Therapeutics worth $672,629,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VKTX. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake 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. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 170.2% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 851 shares during the last quarter. S.A. Mason LLC boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,800 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $75,000. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan acquired 1,240 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $24.15 per share, with a total value of $29,946.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 1,240 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,946. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company's stock.

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Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ VKTX traded up $0.70 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $22.22. 2,962,262 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,987,310. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.07. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.92 and a 1 year high of $81.86. The company has a market cap of $2.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.22 and a beta of 0.84.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.25) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $96.00 price objective (down from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Scotiabank began 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $89.75.

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.