Man Group plc Boosts Position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Man Group plc boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 3,373.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 448,732 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 435,813 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc owned approximately 0.40% of Viking Therapeutics worth $18,057,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $51,464,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 446.7% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,357,241 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $54,615,000 after acquiring an additional 1,108,972 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 228.5% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,479,596 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $59,540,000 after acquiring an additional 1,029,125 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $24,888,000. Finally, Braidwell LP boosted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 27.9% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

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

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of VKTX stock traded up $1.17 on Tuesday, hitting $28.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,383,212 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,086,863. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.92 and a fifty-two week high of $81.73. The company has a market capitalization of $3.22 billion, a PE ratio of -28.67 and a beta of 0.75. The stock's 50 day moving average is $26.11 and its 200-day moving average is $35.79.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last announced 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.26) earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. Maxim Group decreased their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $87.15.

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.