Ameriprise Financial Inc. Has $59.54 Million Stock Position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 228.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,479,596 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 1,029,125 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 1.33% of Viking Therapeutics worth $59,540,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,464,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 446.7% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,357,241 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $54,615,000 after purchasing an additional 1,108,972 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $24,888,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 137.0% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 375,222 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $15,099,000 after buying an additional 216,873 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,416,000. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VKTX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective (down previously from $95.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, April 28th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Viking Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.15.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

VKTX opened at $27.61 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a P/E ratio of -27.61 and a beta of 0.75. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $18.92 and a one year high of $81.73. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $26.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.98.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.31) by ($0.10). During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.26) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan acquired 1,240 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $24.15 per share, for a total transaction of $29,946.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,946. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.