YANKCOM Partnership Takes Position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 821 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,619,430 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,052,176,000 after purchasing an additional 79,149 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 55.4% during the 3rd quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 1,269,152 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $80,350,000 after purchasing an additional 452,344 shares during the last quarter. Braidwell LP lifted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 1,156,977 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $73,248,000 after purchasing an additional 50,072 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 10,775.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,004,033 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $63,565,000 after purchasing an additional 994,801 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 930,370 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $58,902,000 after purchasing an additional 143,675 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VKTX opened at $31.46 on Friday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.81 and a 52 week high of $99.41. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $40.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.01.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted 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 prior year, the business posted ($0.25) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was 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 directly owns 2,366,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,170,867.50. The trade was a 7.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $2,150,709.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 165,259 shares in the company, valued at $7,064,822.25. This trade represents a 23.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 299,014 shares of company stock worth $12,782,849. Insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on VKTX shares. B. Riley started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $109.00 target price for the company. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com upgraded Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.08.

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.