Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. Takes $380,000 Position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 9,450 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $380,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 75.9% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 716 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. FIL Ltd raised its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 116.8% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,203 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 170.2% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 851 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Institutional investors own 76.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on VKTX. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $87.15.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VKTX opened at $29.36 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.36 and a beta of 0.75. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $26.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.03. 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 released 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). During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.26) EPS. Viking Therapeutics's revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan purchased 1,240 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now 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 through this link. 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.

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