Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Decreases Holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP decreased its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 46,890 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 262 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $2,486,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 2,403,820 shares in the last quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at $294,380,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 525,296 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at $78,586,000. Finally, Hood River Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth $55,098,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VKTX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company 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 research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $108.60.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

VKTX stock opened at $65.84 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $61.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.62. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.28 and a 1 year high of $99.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -70.04 and a beta of 1.00.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted its earnings results 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 period last year, the firm earned ($0.19) earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CEO Brian Lian sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 2,354,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $164,609,397.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 20,786 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 9,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $546,535. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 1,000 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.90, for a total transaction of $69,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,354,927 shares in the company, valued at $164,609,397.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 516,671 shares of company stock worth $33,810,813 over the last ninety days. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.