WealthTrust Asset Management LLC Buys 1,100 Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

WealthTrust Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 23.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,700 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 1,100 shares during the quarter. WealthTrust Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $302,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,381,904 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $100,157,000 after acquiring an additional 97,552 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 70.6% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,518 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 628 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the first quarter worth approximately $1,422,000. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 32.4% during the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,274,945 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $23,727,000 after purchasing an additional 311,681 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Shell Asset Management Co. bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at $262,000. Institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 5,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.72, for a total value of $397,404.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $662,340. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Viking Therapeutics news, CEO Brian Lian sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.90, for a total transaction of $69,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,354,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $164,609,397.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 5,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.72, for a total transaction of $397,404.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $662,340. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 290,241 shares of company stock valued at $17,786,475. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 5.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VKTX opened at $68.16 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.55 billion, a PE ratio of -71.95 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $58.62 and a 200-day moving average of $63.50. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $8.28 and a 12 month high of $99.41.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.06. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.19) EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on VKTX. Maxim Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Raymond James raised their price target 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price target for the company. One investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.