Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Position Boosted by Fred Alger Management LLC

Fred Alger Management LLC grew its position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 21.4% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 567,284 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 100,068 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $30,072,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $294,380,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 44.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,785,724 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $638,429,000 after buying an additional 2,403,820 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at $78,586,000. Hood River Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the first quarter worth about $55,098,000. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth about $54,295,000. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VKTX opened at $61.93 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.88. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.28 and a 52 week high of $99.41.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.06. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.19) EPS. Equities analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on VKTX shares. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, September 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began 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. Maxim Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $108.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Brian Lian sold 216,130 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,304,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $163,257,979.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 18,026 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.13, for a total value of $1,029,825.38. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 362,149 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,689,572.37. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 216,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,304,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $163,257,979.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 516,671 shares of company stock valued at $33,810,813 over the last three months. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.