Assetmark Inc. Increases Position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 712.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,489 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,198 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $664,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the second quarter worth $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 84.3% during the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 553 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 7.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ VKTX opened at $49.58 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $64.60 and a 200-day moving average of $61.42. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $10.34 and a 52-week high of $99.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a PE ratio of -53.31 and a beta of 1.00.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.23) earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on VKTX. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley restated 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 lifted their price target 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. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $90.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, 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 objective for the company. One equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $109.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 112,870 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.80, for a total transaction of $7,426,846.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,354,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $154,954,196.60. This represents a 4.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was 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 approximately $768,455. This trade represents a 53.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 506,687 shares of company stock worth $36,029,679 in the last quarter. 4.70% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.