Stifel Financial Corp Buys 47,471 Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 36.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 178,819 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 47,471 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp owned about 0.16% of Viking Therapeutics worth $7,196,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $1,715,000. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 122.4% in the 4th quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 80,602 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,243,000 after buying an additional 44,365 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 103.1% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 42,612 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,715,000 after acquiring an additional 21,627 shares in the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $475,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $528,000. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan purchased 1,240 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost 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 approximately $29,946. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 4.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VKTX traded up $0.75 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $29.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,442,732 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,095,973. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.36 and a beta of 0.84. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.92 and a fifty-two week high of $81.86. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $26.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.64.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James boosted their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 price target (down from $95.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $96.00 target price (down previously from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.