Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Bought by NEOS Investment Management LLC

NEOS Investment Management LLC increased its position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 9.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,215 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,707 shares during the period. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $813,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 728,652 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,321,000 after purchasing an additional 13,055 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 628,764 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $25,301,000 after acquiring an additional 35,236 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $24,888,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 462,964 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $18,630,000 after purchasing an additional 41,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 137.0% in the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 375,222 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $15,099,000 after purchasing an additional 216,873 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ VKTX opened at $25.65 on Monday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.41 and a fifty-two week high of $82.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $30.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.50. The firm has a market cap of $2.88 billion, a PE ratio of -25.65 and a beta of 0.90.

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

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $2,150,709.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 165,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,064,822.25. This trade represents a 23.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $2,317,691.25. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 374,134 shares in the company, valued at $15,994,228.50. The trade was a 12.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 299,014 shares of company stock valued at $12,782,849. Insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on VKTX shares. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $96.00 price objective (down previously from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Maxim Group reduced their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.18.

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.