PFG Investments LLC Makes New $230,000 Investment in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

PFG Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,640 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $230,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VKTX. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Viking Therapeutics by 44.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,785,724 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $638,429,000 after buying an additional 2,403,820 shares during the period. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at about $294,380,000. Perpetual Ltd raised its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 55.4% in the third quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 1,269,152 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $80,350,000 after acquiring an additional 452,344 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 10,775.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,004,033 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $63,565,000 after purchasing an additional 994,801 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hood River Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 714,578 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $37,880,000 after buying an additional 42,650 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on VKTX shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Raymond James lifted 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 report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 target price for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $108.60.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VKTX opened at $71.75 on Thursday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $9.32 and a 1 year high of $99.41. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -77.15 and a beta of 1.00.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.23) earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Brian Lian sold 112,870 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.80, for a total transaction of $7,426,846.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,354,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $154,954,196.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total value of $889,790.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $768,455. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 112,870 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.80, for a total transaction of $7,426,846.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,354,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $154,954,196.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 525,473 shares of company stock valued at $37,088,158 in the last ninety days. 4.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.