Second Line Capital LLC Buys 11,393 Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Second Line Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 29.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,511 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 11,393 shares during the period. Second Line Capital LLC's holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $1,992,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 271,163 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $10,912,000 after purchasing an additional 17,410 shares during the period. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $477,000. Man Group plc lifted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 3,373.4% in the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 448,732 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $18,057,000 after purchasing an additional 435,813 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 319,868 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $12,871,000 after purchasing an additional 1,868 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $429,000. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 4.3%

VKTX stock traded up $1.17 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $28.67. 2,383,212 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,086,863. The business has a 50-day moving average of $26.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.79. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.92 and a 52 week high of $81.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.22 billion, a PE ratio of -28.67 and a beta of 0.75.

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

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $102.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $87.15.

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.