Braidwell LP Has $59.54 Million Stock Position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Braidwell LP grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 27.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,479,666 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 322,689 shares during the quarter. Viking Therapeutics makes up about 1.8% of Braidwell LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Braidwell LP owned 1.33% of Viking Therapeutics worth $59,542,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at $240,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in Viking Therapeutics by 296.8% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 15,190 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $962,000 after purchasing an additional 11,362 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 29.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 593,528 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $37,576,000 after buying an additional 136,729 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $92,000. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 557.8% during the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 3,289 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $132,000 after buying an additional 2,789 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on VKTX. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Maxim Group dropped 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. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $87.15.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VKTX traded down $0.24 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $27.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,731,343 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,108,528. The firm has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a P/E ratio of -27.61 and a beta of 0.75. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.92 and a 1-year high of $81.73. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $26.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.98.

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

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan acquired 1,240 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $24.15 per share, for a total transaction of $29,946.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,240 shares in the company, valued at $29,946. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

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.