13,710 Shares in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Purchased by J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 13,710 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $552,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VKTX. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 75.9% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 716 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. FIL Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 116.8% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,203 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 648 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 170.2% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 851 shares during the last quarter. Finally, S.A. Mason LLC raised its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,800 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company's stock.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 2.1 %

VKTX traded down $0.54 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $24.45. 1,468,194 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,051,637. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $18.92 and a one year high of $81.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.49 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.34.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.34) by ($0.07). During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.26) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VKTX shares. Citigroup started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. Maxim Group cut their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $85.75.

Insider Activity

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

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.