DAFNA Capital Management LLC Reduces Stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

DAFNA Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 48.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 64,516 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 61,100 shares during the quarter. DAFNA Capital Management LLC owned 0.06% of Viking Therapeutics worth $2,596,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. S.A. Mason LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Viking Therapeutics by 75.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 716 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 4,980 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 28,929 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,164,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the period. Finally, Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 24.1% during 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan purchased 1,240 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $24.15 per share, with a total value of $29,946.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,240 shares in the company, valued at $29,946. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 4.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on VKTX. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, 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 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $87.15.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ VKTX traded down $0.24 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $27.61. The company had a trading volume of 1,731,343 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,108,528. The stock has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of -27.61 and a beta of 0.75. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $18.92 and a one year high of $81.73. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $26.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.98.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last announced 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). During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.26) earnings per share. The business's revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

Viking Therapeutics Company Profile

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.