Meeder Asset Management Inc. Has $43,000 Position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 140.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 802 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 469 shares during the quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $43,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 44.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,785,724 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $638,429,000 after purchasing an additional 2,403,820 shares during the period. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $294,380,000. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,274,945 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $23,727,000 after purchasing an additional 311,681 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 88.3% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,119,885 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $20,841,000 after purchasing an additional 525,296 shares during the period. Finally, Perpetual Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $78,586,000. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 6.2 %

Shares of Viking Therapeutics stock opened at $66.73 on Monday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.28 and a 12-month high of $99.41. The stock has a market cap of $7.39 billion, a P/E ratio of -71.75 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s 50 day moving average is $58.00 and its 200-day moving average is $63.72.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.06. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.19) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.99 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 18,026 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.13, for a total value of $1,029,825.38. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 362,149 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,689,572.37. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 18,026 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.13, for a total value of $1,029,825.38. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 362,149 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,689,572.37. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 20,786 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.53, for a total value of $1,195,818.58. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 9,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $546,535. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 290,241 shares of company stock worth $17,786,475. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Maxim Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price target for the company. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $108.60.

Viking Therapeutics 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.