Fred Alger Management LLC Cuts Stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Fred Alger Management LLC cut its position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 85.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 71,569 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 417,300 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Viking Therapeutics worth $2,880,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 597,739 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $24,053,000 after purchasing an additional 16,321 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 86,181 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,468,000 after purchasing an additional 5,634 shares during the last quarter. Boone Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Boone Capital Management LLC now owns 209,853 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $8,444,000 after buying an additional 16,964 shares in the last quarter. Braidwell LP boosted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 27.9% in the 4th quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 1,479,666 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $59,542,000 after buying an additional 322,689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $380,000. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan purchased 1,240 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on VKTX shares. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (down from $95.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $96.00 price target (down 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 assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $87.15.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ VKTX traded up $0.12 during trading on Thursday, reaching $26.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,269,222 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,107,425. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.92 and a twelve month high of $81.73. The business's fifty day moving average price is $26.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.24. The firm has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -26.66 and a beta of 0.75.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.26) EPS. Viking Therapeutics's revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.