California State Teachers Retirement System Raises Stock Holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX

California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 21.5% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 124,452 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,036 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $4,050,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VKTX. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 41.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,092,840 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $55,000,000 after acquiring an additional 616,526 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 58.7% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,085,487 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $54,807,000 after purchasing an additional 771,704 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,994,509 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $70,183,000 after purchasing an additional 385,903 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Viking Therapeutics by 536.3% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 992,695 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $34,923,000 after purchasing an additional 836,686 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its position in Viking Therapeutics by 16.1% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 954,272 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $25,078,000 after purchasing an additional 131,994 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 18,217 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.47, for a total value of $609,722.99. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 422,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,149,777.20. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 148,517 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.32, for a total transaction of $4,948,586.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,572,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $85,713,734.12. This trade represents a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders have sold 187,951 shares of company stock worth $6,268,442. 5.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VKTX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded Viking Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 target price on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Lake Street Capital began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $89.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.88.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VKTX opened at $34.26 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $34.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.99. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.96 and a 1-year high of $43.15. The company has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.35 and a beta of 0.69.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.10) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.21) by $0.11. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.58) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Viking Therapeutics Profile

Viking Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders. Headquartered in San Diego, California, the company’s pipeline leverages small-molecule approaches to target hormone signaling pathways implicated in conditions such as non?alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes and muscle wasting disorders.

The company’s lead programs include VK2809, a thyroid hormone receptor?beta agonist designed to reduce liver fat and improve lipid profiles in patients with NASH and dyslipidemia, and VK5211, a selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) aimed at enhancing muscle mass and function in individuals with muscle wasting conditions.