Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 48.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,561 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 34,895 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $1,991,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VKTX. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 370.7% during the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 353 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the period. LifeSteps Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 123.8% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,258 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 696 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Brian Lian sold 216,130 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was 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 approximately $163,257,979.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 18,026 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 362,149 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,689,572.37. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 216,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The stock was 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 owns 2,304,927 shares in the company, valued at $163,257,979.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 516,671 shares of company stock worth $33,810,813 in the last three months. 4.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VKTX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, September 12th. 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 note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $108.60.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of VKTX stock opened at $70.47 on Friday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $8.28 and a twelve month high of $99.41. The company has a market capitalization of $7.81 billion, a PE ratio of -75.35 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.53.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its earnings results 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 previous year, the business earned ($0.19) EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1 EPS for the current year.

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.