683 Capital Management LLC Sells 40,000 Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

683 Capital Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 12.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 280,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 40,000 shares during the period. Viking Therapeutics makes up about 0.7% of 683 Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. 683 Capital Management LLC owned 0.25% of Viking Therapeutics worth $11,267,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $224,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 537,239 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $21,516,000 after buying an additional 73,710 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 535,984 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $21,568,000 after buying an additional 54,871 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 34,479 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,387,000 after acquiring an additional 1,615 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan acquired 1,240 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $24.15 per share, with a total value of $29,946.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,946. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VKTX. Citigroup initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $96.00 price objective (down previously from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Viking Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $87.15.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VKTX traded up $0.39 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $27.40. 1,317,122 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,093,885. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -27.41 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $26.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.70. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $18.92 and a one year high of $81.86.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.31) by ($0.10). The company's revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.26) EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.