Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Takes $54.30 Million Position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 662,131 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,295,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP owned about 0.60% of Viking Therapeutics at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VKTX. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter worth $25,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 370.7% in the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 353 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter worth $61,000. Institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VKTX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Maxim Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.56.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of VKTX stock traded up $0.80 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $50.90. 1,885,594 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,821,576. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $57.22 and its 200-day moving average is $55.13. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.28 and a 52 week high of $99.41.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by $0.01. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.25) EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 281,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.66, for a total value of $22,136,890.50. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 348,508 shares in the company, valued at $27,413,639.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Greg Zante sold 66,756 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.69, for a total transaction of $4,986,005.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 174,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,059,845.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 281,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.66, for a total value of $22,136,890.50. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 348,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,413,639.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

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.