Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Acquired by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,880,713 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,046 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $75,704,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VKTX. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 75.9% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 716 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 170.2% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 851 shares during the last quarter. S.A. Mason LLC boosted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,800 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Viking Therapeutics stock opened at $22.22 on Friday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.92 and a 12-month high of $81.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a PE ratio of -22.22 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.20.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.25) earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. Maxim Group reduced their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and issued a $96.00 target price (down previously from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan bought 1,240 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $24.15 per share, for a total transaction of $29,946.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,946. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

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.