Fmr LLC Has $1.05 Billion Stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Fmr LLC increased its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,619,430 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 79,149 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC owned approximately 14.91% of Viking Therapeutics worth $1,052,176,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VKTX. Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 84.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 553 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 2.0 %

VKTX opened at $54.51 on Thursday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $11.55 and a 1-year high of $99.41. The business has a 50 day moving average of $63.24 and a 200-day moving average of $59.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -58.61 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on VKTX shares. StockNews.com raised Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $138.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. 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 objective for the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, B. Riley assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $109.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $109.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 10,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total value of $715,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $660,250. This represents a 52.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Lawson Macartney sold 2,000 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.67, for a total transaction of $137,340.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 47,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,293,756.55. This trade represents a 4.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 371,117 shares of company stock valued at $27,140,009 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

About Viking Therapeutics

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.