Foundations Investment Advisors LLC Acquires New Stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Foundations Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 3,445 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 worth $638,429,000 after acquiring an additional 2,403,820 shares during the last quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the first quarter worth about $294,380,000. Perpetual Ltd increased its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 55.4% in the third quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 1,269,152 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $80,350,000 after purchasing an additional 452,344 shares in the last quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 6.3% in the second quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 714,578 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $37,880,000 after purchasing an additional 42,650 shares during the period. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $54,295,000. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

VKTX stock opened at $78.03 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.68. The stock has a market cap of $8.60 billion, a PE ratio of -83.90 and a beta of 1.00. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $8.28 and a one year high of $99.41.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.23) earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on VKTX shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $138.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday. One equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $108.60.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 115,859 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.58, for a total value of $6,671,161.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,354,927 shares in the company, valued at $135,596,696.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 115,859 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.58, for a total value of $6,671,161.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,354,927 shares in the company, valued at $135,596,696.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 18,026 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.13, for a total transaction of $1,029,825.38. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 362,149 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,689,572.37. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 527,671 shares of company stock worth $34,700,603. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by 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.