Cetera Investment Advisers Has $3.49 Million Position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. by 67.5%, acquiring an additional 58,168 shares, bringing its total to 144,349 shares valued at approximately $3.49 million.
• Despite a 12-month high of $81.73, Viking Therapeutics reported a loss per share of ($0.58), missing analysts' estimates, and is projected to post -$1.56 EPS for the current year.
• The company's stock has received mixed ratings from analysts, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price averaging $86.92.

Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 67.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 144,349 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 58,168 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers owned approximately 0.13% of Viking Therapeutics worth $3,486,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 1492 Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth about $992,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 42.1% during the 1st quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 7,078 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $171,000 after purchasing an additional 2,098 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth about $206,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth about $674,000. Finally, Lewis Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC now owns 43,675 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,055,000 after purchasing an additional 2,400 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, CFO Greg Zante sold 4,266 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.76, for a total value of $118,424.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 168,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,682,001.60. This trade represents a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 4,266 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 377,535 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,484,146.95. The trade was a 1.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,421 shares of company stock worth $984,405 over the last ninety days. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VKTX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 price target (down previously from $95.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, April 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Raymond James Financial cut their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.92.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of Viking Therapeutics stock traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $34.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,697,957 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,961,655. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.92 and a 12 month high of $81.73. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $29.34 and a 200 day moving average of $28.53. The company has a market capitalization of $3.83 billion, a PE ratio of -22.24 and a beta of 0.67.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.58) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.44) by ($0.14). Viking Therapeutics's revenue was up NaN% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.20) earnings per share. Equities analysts expect 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.