Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Purchased by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 9,209.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,392 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 24,130 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC's holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $589,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,715,438 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $672,629,000 after buying an additional 96,008 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,880,713 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $75,704,000 after buying an additional 17,046 shares during the last quarter. Braidwell LP increased its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 27.9% in the fourth quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 1,479,666 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $59,542,000 after buying an additional 322,689 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 228.5% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,479,596 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $59,540,000 after buying an additional 1,029,125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 446.7% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,357,241 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $54,615,000 after buying an additional 1,108,972 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VKTX traded down $0.27 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $26.01. 2,953,670 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,041,002. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $26.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.00. The firm has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a P/E ratio of -22.62 and a beta of 0.65. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.92 and a twelve month high of $81.73.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.31) by ($0.10). Viking Therapeutics's quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.26) earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on VKTX shares. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Viking Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 target price (down from $95.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $87.15.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan acquired 1,240 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $24.15 per share, for a total transaction of $29,946.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,946. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Viking Therapeutics Company 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.