Castleark Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Castleark Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 85.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm 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 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VKTX. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 96,008 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew 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 worth $75,704,000 after buying an additional 17,046 shares in the last quarter. Braidwell LP increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 27.9% in the 4th quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 1,479,666 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $59,542,000 after acquiring an additional 322,689 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 228.5% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,479,596 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $59,540,000 after acquiring an additional 1,029,125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 446.7% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,357,241 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $54,615,000 after acquiring an additional 1,108,972 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VKTX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price objective (down from $95.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $87.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

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 shares were purchased at an average cost of $24.15 per share, for a total transaction of $29,946.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,240 shares in the company, valued at $29,946. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of VKTX stock opened at $27.25 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $26.02 and a 200 day moving average of $35.68. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.92 and a 1-year high of $81.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of -27.25 and a beta of 0.75.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.26) earnings per share. Analysts anticipate 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.

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