Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX Stock Position Increased by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 4.7%, acquiring an additional 28,922 shares, bringing its total ownership to 647,391 shares valued at approximately $15.6 million.
• Multiple hedge funds have also increased their holdings in Viking Therapeutics, with institutional investors now owning 76.03% of the company's stock.
• Analysts remain positive on Viking Therapeutics, with a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $86.92, despite the company reporting a Q2 loss of -$0.58 per share.

Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 4.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 647,391 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 28,922 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.58% of Viking Therapeutics worth $15,634,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 64.8% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,363 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 536 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. grew its position 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 worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 2,221 shares in the last quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $56,000. 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. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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 business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 168,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,682,001.60. The trade was a 2.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 26,889 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.80, for a total value of $747,514.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,388,014 shares in the company, valued at $66,386,789.20. This represents a 1.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,421 shares of company stock valued at $984,405 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 1.9%

Viking Therapeutics stock traded down $0.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $27.05. 3,791,572 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,774,186. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $31.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.49. The company has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a PE ratio of -17.68 and a beta of 0.73. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $18.92 and a one year high of $81.73.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.58) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by ($0.14). The company's revenue was up NaN% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.20) earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on VKTX shares. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Raymond James Financial cut their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $86.92.

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.