Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Sold by Bank of America Corp DE

Bank of America Corp DE decreased its position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 14.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 361,551 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 61,282 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.32% of Viking Therapeutics worth $14,549,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,715,438 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $672,629,000 after acquiring an additional 96,008 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,880,713 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $75,704,000 after purchasing an additional 17,046 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 228.5% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,479,596 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $59,540,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029,125 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 446.7% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,357,241 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $54,615,000 after purchasing an additional 1,108,972 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $51,464,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company's stock.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 0.7%

NASDAQ:VKTX traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $27.18. 2,841,766 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,075,253. The firm has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a PE ratio of -27.18 and a beta of 0.75. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.92 and a twelve month high of $81.73. The stock's 50-day moving average is $25.84 and its 200-day moving average is $34.39.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). The business's revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.26) EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $96.00 price objective (down previously from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. Maxim Group decreased their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One equities 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $87.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan bought 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, with a total value of $29,946.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,240 shares in the company, valued at $29,946. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 4.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.