Wasatch Advisors LP Has $7.28 Million Holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Wasatch Advisors LP lowered its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 20.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 180,918 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 46,802 shares during the quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP owned 0.16% of Viking Therapeutics worth $7,280,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 108.5% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,068 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 1,076 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,757,000. Portolan Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC now owns 128,420 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $5,168,000 after buying an additional 2,658 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 221.5% during the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 13,251 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $533,000 after buying an additional 9,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC raised its position in Viking Therapeutics by 40.5% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 14,426 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $580,000 after buying an additional 4,161 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.03% of the company's stock.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ VKTX traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $24.08. 1,229,418 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,475,319. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.92 and a twelve month high of $81.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.70 billion, a P/E ratio of -24.08 and a beta of 0.84. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $26.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.70.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.25) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan acquired 1,240 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $24.15 per share, for a total transaction of $29,946.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,240 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,946. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VKTX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday. Scotiabank began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Maxim Group reduced their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $89.75.

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.