Pier Capital LLC Sells 31,643 Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Pier Capital LLC reduced its holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 35.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 57,504 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 31,643 shares during the quarter. Pier Capital LLC owned about 0.05% of Viking Therapeutics worth $2,314,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $1,715,000. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 92.1% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 131,348 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $8,316,000 after purchasing an additional 62,956 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 6.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 715,597 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $45,304,000 after purchasing an additional 44,122 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 109.1% in the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 34,023 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $2,154,000 after purchasing an additional 17,754 shares during the period. Finally, Institute for Wealth Management LLC. raised its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 122.4% in the fourth quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 80,602 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,243,000 after purchasing an additional 44,365 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $2,317,691.25. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 374,134 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,994,228.50. This represents a 12.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $8,314,447.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,366,570 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $101,170,867.50. This represents a 7.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 299,014 shares of company stock worth $12,782,849 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company's stock.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of VKTX stock traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $26.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,347,271 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,390,262. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.41 and a 52-week high of $84.70. The stock has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -26.29 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $30.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.00.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 posted ($0.25) EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. Maxim Group decreased their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $96.00 price objective (down previously from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $95.18.

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.