Lighthouse Financial LLC Invests $563,000 in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Lighthouse Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 14,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $563,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 75.9% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 716 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 309 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. FIL Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 116.8% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,203 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 170.2% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. 76.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VKTX has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price objective (down previously from $95.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Raymond James upped their price target 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. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $87.15.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of VKTX stock traded down $1.18 on Friday, hitting $26.98. The stock had a trading volume of 2,842,888 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,089,125. The stock has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -26.98 and a beta of 0.75. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.92 and a 12-month high of $81.73. The business has a 50 day moving average of $25.76 and a 200 day moving average of $33.58.

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

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan bought 1,240 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $24.15 per share, for a total transaction of $29,946.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,240 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,946. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 4.10% of the stock is owned by 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.