Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Purchases New Stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC has acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics, purchasing 8,993 shares valued at approximately $254,000.
• Viking Therapeutics currently has a market cap of $3.93 billion and has seen its stock trading up by 8.1%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Viking Therapeutics, with a consensus price target of $86.42 despite the company recently reporting earnings below expectations.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 8,993 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $254,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VKTX. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at $9,283,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 59.2% during the first quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 597,515 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $14,430,000 after purchasing an additional 222,293 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 222.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 301,078 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $7,271,000 after purchasing an additional 207,784 shares during the period. Granahan Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 20.4% during the first quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC now owns 367,961 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $8,886,000 after purchasing an additional 62,375 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 67.5% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 144,349 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,486,000 after purchasing an additional 58,168 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 8.1%

NASDAQ:VKTX opened at $34.98 on Friday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.92 and a twelve month high of $81.73. The company has a 50-day moving average of $29.27 and a 200-day moving average of $28.02. The firm has a market cap of $3.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.86 and a beta of 0.64.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.20) EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up NaN% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on VKTX shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Raymond James Financial dropped their target price on shares of 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, HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, September 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $86.42.

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.

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