JW Asset Management LLC Takes Position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

JW Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 45,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,849,000. Viking Therapeutics comprises 1.3% of JW Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Viking Therapeutics by 44.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,785,724 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $638,429,000 after buying an additional 2,403,820 shares during the last quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $294,380,000. Perpetual Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 55.4% during the 3rd quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 1,269,152 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $80,350,000 after acquiring an additional 452,344 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 10,775.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,004,033 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $63,565,000 after acquiring an additional 994,801 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hood River Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 714,578 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $37,880,000 after acquiring an additional 42,650 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 4.9 %

Shares of VKTX opened at $51.51 on Wednesday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $11.21 and a 12 month high of $99.41. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $64.42 and its 200-day moving average is $60.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.74 billion, a PE ratio of -55.39 and a beta of 1.00.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.23) EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CEO Brian Lian sold 216,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.83, for a total transaction of $15,308,487.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,304,927 shares in the company, valued at $163,257,979.41. The trade was a 8.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Lawson Macartney sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.67, for a total value of $137,340.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 47,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,293,756.55. The trade was a 4.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 371,117 shares of company stock valued at $27,140,009. 4.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on VKTX. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $138.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $90.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $109.80.

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.