Castleark Management LLC Has $200,000 Holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Castleark Management LLC lessened its position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 85.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,978 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 30,011 shares during the period. Castleark Management LLC's holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $200,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Janney Capital Management LLC grew its position in Viking Therapeutics by 89.2% during the fourth quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC now owns 6,542 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 3,085 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 177.0% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 23,552 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $948,000 after purchasing an additional 15,049 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in Viking Therapeutics by 103.1% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 42,612 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,715,000 after purchasing an additional 21,627 shares in the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $475,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 54.7% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 10,085 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $406,000 after buying an additional 3,566 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan acquired 1,240 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was bought at an average price of $24.15 per share, with a total value of $29,946.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 1,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,946. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 0.4%

VKTX traded down $0.11 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $26.87. The stock had a trading volume of 837,202 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,067,386. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $25.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $34.44. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.92 and a 1-year high of $81.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -26.83 and a beta of 0.75.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 target price (down previously from $95.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Citigroup started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Maxim Group lowered their target price 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. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One investment 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $87.15.

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.