Ameriprise Financial Inc. Boosts Stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 228.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,479,596 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 1,029,125 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 1.33% of Viking Therapeutics worth $59,540,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 29.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 593,528 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $37,576,000 after acquiring an additional 136,729 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $92,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 557.8% in the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 3,289 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $132,000 after buying an additional 2,789 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 600.0% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 3,500 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $141,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $75,000. Institutional investors own 76.03% of the company's stock.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 2.9%

Shares of NASDAQ VKTX traded up $0.78 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $28.18. The company had a trading volume of 1,312,849 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,100,031. The company has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.16 and a beta of 0.75. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.92 and a 1 year high of $81.73. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $26.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.92.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). Viking Therapeutics's revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.26) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan acquired 1,240 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was bought at an average price of $24.15 per share, with a total value of $29,946.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 1,240 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,946. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 4.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on VKTX. Maxim Group decreased their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Viking Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $87.15.

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.