39,652 Shares in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Bought by RFG Advisory LLC

RFG Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 39,652 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $958,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in VKTX. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake 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 last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its stake in 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 last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in 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 last quarter. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 24.1% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 2,165 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WealthTrust Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. WealthTrust Asset Management LLC now owns 6,923 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on VKTX shares. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 price target (down from $95.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target 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. Finally, Maxim Group reduced their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $87.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan acquired 1,240 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $24.15 per share, for a total transaction of $29,946.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,240 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,946. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 4.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 0.1%

Viking Therapeutics stock opened at $27.04 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.04 and a beta of 0.75. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.92 and a 52 week high of $81.73. The business's 50-day moving average price is $25.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.17.

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). The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.26) earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

Viking Therapeutics 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.

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