International Assets Investment Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 10,775.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,004,033 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 994,801 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC owned 0.91% of Viking Therapeutics worth $63,565,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,381,904 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $100,157,000 after buying an additional 97,552 shares in the last quarter. Nepsis Inc. purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $11,251,000. CWM LLC grew its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 70.6% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,518 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 628 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 43.2% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 441,590 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $27,957,000 after buying an additional 133,144 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 721.9% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 180,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $11,396,000 after buying an additional 158,100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 6.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ VKTX opened at $78.03 on Friday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $8.28 and a 12 month high of $99.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.60 billion, a PE ratio of -83.90 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.68.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.23) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $108.60.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Brian Lian sold 115,859 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.58, for a total value of $6,671,161.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,354,927 shares in the company, valued at $135,596,696.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total value of $889,790.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $768,455. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 115,859 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.58, for a total transaction of $6,671,161.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,354,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $135,596,696.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 527,671 shares of company stock worth $34,700,603 over the last three months. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Viking Therapeutics Company 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.