Handelsbanken Fonder AB Buys 3,400 Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 183,400 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,400 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned approximately 0.16% of Viking Therapeutics worth $7,380,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Oak Ridge Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter worth $837,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 43.5% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 102,324 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $6,478,000 after buying an additional 31,011 shares during the period. Nvwm LLC acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at $999,000. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 88.0% in the third quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 36,666 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,322,000 after buying an additional 17,159 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 92.1% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 131,348 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $8,316,000 after buying an additional 62,956 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $8,314,447.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,366,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,170,867.50. This represents a 7.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $2,150,709.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 165,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,064,822.25. The trade was a 23.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 299,014 shares of company stock valued at $12,782,849 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ:VKTX opened at $34.07 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $36.28 and a 200-day moving average of $52.07. The company has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a PE ratio of -34.07 and a beta of 0.90. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $28.64 and a one year high of $99.41.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.25) EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on VKTX shares. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 6th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and issued a $96.00 target price (down previously from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.29.

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.