Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Acquired by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 29.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 593,528 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 136,729 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.54% of Viking Therapeutics worth $37,576,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Oak Ridge Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth about $837,000. Nvwm LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $999,000. Nepsis Inc. purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $11,251,000. CWM LLC raised its position in 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 period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 43.2% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 441,590 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $27,957,000 after purchasing an additional 133,144 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on VKTX shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. StockNews.com upgraded Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $138.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. 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 target price on the stock. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $109.80.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 20,786 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 9,500 shares in the company, valued at $546,535. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 20,786 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.53, for a total transaction of $1,195,818.58. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $546,535. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total transaction of $889,790.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $768,455. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 527,473 shares of company stock worth $37,225,498 in the last three months. Insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ VKTX opened at $62.97 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $64.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.80. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $9.49 and a one year high of $99.41. The firm has a market cap of $7.02 billion, a PE ratio of -67.71 and a beta of 1.00.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.23) EPS. Research analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.98 earnings per share for the current year.

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.