FORA Capital LLC Makes New $1.12 Million Investment in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 27,744 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,116,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC lifted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,715,438 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $672,629,000 after acquiring an additional 96,008 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 0.9% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Braidwell LP increased its position in Viking Therapeutics by 27.9% during the 4th quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 1,479,666 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $59,542,000 after buying an additional 322,689 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 228.5% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,479,596 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $59,540,000 after buying an additional 1,029,125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,108,972 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VKTX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (down previously from $95.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $87.15.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ VKTX opened at $27.61 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.61 and a beta of 0.75. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.92 and a 12 month high of $81.73. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $26.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.13.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan bought 1,240 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $24.15 per share, with a total value of $29,946.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,946. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 4.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.