Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Purchases 10,564 Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 27.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,707 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,564 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $1,960,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VKTX. S.A. Mason LLC increased its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,800 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 75.9% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 716 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 4,980 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 28,929 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,164,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 24.1% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 2,165 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan purchased 1,240 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $24.15 per share, with a total value of $29,946.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,240 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,946. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 4.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ VKTX opened at $29.49 on Tuesday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $26.21 and its 200 day moving average is $38.78. The stock has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.49 and a beta of 0.75. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.92 and a 1-year high of $81.86.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Maxim Group decreased their price target 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. Raymond James upped their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.

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