Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Position Raised by Meeder Asset Management Inc.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 144.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,958 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 1,156 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $124,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VKTX. Blue Trust Inc. bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 84.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 553 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VKTX opened at $51.53 on Thursday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $11.21 and a 1-year high of $99.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.74 billion, a PE ratio of -55.41 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s 50 day moving average is $64.24 and its 200-day moving average is $60.76.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 last year, the business posted ($0.23) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.98 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, 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 value of $15,308,487.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,304,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $163,257,979.41. The trade was a 8.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lawson Macartney sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.67, for a total value of $137,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 47,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,293,756.55. This represents a 4.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 371,117 shares of company stock valued at $27,140,009 in the last 90 days. 4.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on VKTX shares. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday. Raymond James lifted their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $138.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $109.80.

Viking Therapeutics Company 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.