Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Acquired by EFG Asset Management North America Corp.

EFG Asset Management North America Corp. increased its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 130.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 71,773 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 40,674 shares during the period. EFG Asset Management North America Corp.’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $2,887,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,619,430 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,052,176,000 after purchasing an additional 79,149 shares in the last quarter. Braidwell LP raised its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 4.5% during the third quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 1,156,977 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $73,248,000 after purchasing an additional 50,072 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 18.3% during the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 930,370 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $58,902,000 after purchasing an additional 143,675 shares in the last quarter. 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. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 628,764 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $25,301,000 after buying an additional 35,236 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ:VKTX opened at $29.28 on Tuesday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.41 and a 12 month high of $89.10. The business’s 50-day moving average is $30.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a PE ratio of -29.28 and a beta of 0.90.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.25) earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $96.00 price objective (down from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Maxim Group dropped their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Raymond James raised their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $97.67.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 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 transaction of $2,317,691.25. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 374,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,994,228.50. The trade was a 12.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of the business’s 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 owns 165,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,064,822.25. This trade represents a 23.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 299,014 shares of company stock valued at $12,782,849. Corporate 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.