PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co Takes $604,000 Position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 15,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $604,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VKTX. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $1,715,000. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 122.4% in the fourth quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 80,602 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,243,000 after purchasing an additional 44,365 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 103.1% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 42,612 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,715,000 after purchasing an additional 21,627 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $528,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 58.0% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 14,911 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $600,000 after purchasing an additional 5,475 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on VKTX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Viking Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Raymond James increased their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. B. Riley restated a "buy" rating and set a $96.00 target price (down from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $87.15.

Insider Activity

In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan bought 1,240 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $24.15 per share, with a total value of $29,946.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 1,240 shares in the company, valued at $29,946. This 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 Stock Down 2.5%

NASDAQ VKTX traded down $0.68 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $26.12. 3,218,188 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,085,653. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $25.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.42. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.92 and a 52 week high of $81.73. The stock has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a PE ratio of -26.12 and a beta of 0.75.

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