9,855 Shares in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Acquired by Banque Pictet & Cie SA

Banque Pictet & Cie SA acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 9,855 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $238,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VKTX. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 728,652 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $29,321,000 after purchasing an additional 13,055 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 21,997 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $885,000 after buying an additional 2,689 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 12,126 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $488,000 after buying an additional 1,637 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position 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 worth $1,164,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $24,888,000. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on VKTX. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 price target (down previously from $95.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Viking Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $87.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 26,889 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.80, for a total transaction of $747,514.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,388,014 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $66,386,789.20. This trade represents a 1.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 4,266 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.77, for a total value of $118,466.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 377,535 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,484,146.95. This represents a 1.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 35,421 shares of company stock worth $984,405. 4.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of Viking Therapeutics stock traded up $0.52 on Monday, hitting $31.63. 3,452,212 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,063,945. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $27.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a PE ratio of -27.50 and a beta of 0.62. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $18.92 and a one year high of $81.73.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.31) by ($0.10). During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.26) earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.