AQR Capital Management LLC Acquires 73,710 Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 15.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 537,239 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 73,710 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.48% of Viking Therapeutics worth $21,516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VKTX. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 75.9% in 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 period. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. FIL Ltd boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 116.8% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,203 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 648 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 170.2% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. Finally, S.A. Mason LLC grew its position in Viking Therapeutics by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,800 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company's stock.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 2.1 %

VKTX stock traded up $0.56 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $27.57. The stock had a trading volume of 3,389,789 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,101,896. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.57 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. The company has a fifty day moving average of $26.18 and a 200 day moving average of $38.70.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last posted its 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). During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.26) EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on VKTX shares. Morgan Stanley decreased 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 report on Thursday, April 24th. B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $96.00 target price (down from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Viking Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $87.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan purchased 1,240 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $24.15 per share, for a total transaction of $29,946.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.10% 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.