Lighthouse Financial LLC Acquires Shares of 14,000 Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Lighthouse Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 14,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $563,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,715,438 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $672,629,000 after purchasing an additional 96,008 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,880,713 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $75,704,000 after purchasing an additional 17,046 shares in the last quarter. Braidwell LP boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 27.9% during the fourth 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. boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 228.5% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,479,596 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $59,540,000 after acquiring an additional 1,029,125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 446.7% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,357,241 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $54,615,000 after acquiring an additional 1,108,972 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan acquired 1,240 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $24.15 per share, with a total value of $29,946.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 1,240 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,946. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 3.8%

Viking Therapeutics stock traded up $1.03 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $28.16. 2,509,515 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,079,703. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $25.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.16 and a beta of 0.75. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.92 and a fifty-two week high of $81.73.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.26) EPS. Viking Therapeutics's quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on VKTX shares. Truist Financial reiterated 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. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $96.00 target price (down previously from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Raymond James boosted their target price 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. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average 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.