Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Buys 23,481 Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 19.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 144,543 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 23,481 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of Viking Therapeutics worth $3,491,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 64.8% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,363 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd boosted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 116.8% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,203 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 222,100.0% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 2,222 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 2,221 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 170.2% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 851 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 1,242.9% in the 1st quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC now owns 2,350 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 2,175 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan bought 1,240 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $24.15 per share, with a total value of $29,946.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,240 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,946. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on VKTX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 target price (down previously from $95.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Viking Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. 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 Trading Up 4.0%

NASDAQ VKTX traded up $1.08 on Thursday, reaching $28.17. The stock had a trading volume of 5,362,771 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,060,544. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.92 and a 1 year high of $81.73. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $27.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.76. The company has a market capitalization of $3.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.50 and a beta of 0.65.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.31) by ($0.10). During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.26) earnings per share. Viking Therapeutics's quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Viking Therapeutics 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.