Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Sells 39,355 Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc decreased its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 8.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 412,656 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 39,355 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $16,605,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at $1,116,000. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 597,739 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $24,053,000 after buying an additional 16,321 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 86,181 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,468,000 after buying an additional 5,634 shares during the last quarter. Boone Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Boone Capital Management LLC now owns 209,853 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $8,444,000 after buying an additional 16,964 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Braidwell LP lifted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 27.9% in the 4th quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 1,479,666 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $59,542,000 after acquiring an additional 322,689 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VKTX opened at $27.61 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.73. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $18.92 and a one year high of $81.73. The firm has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of -27.61 and a beta of 0.75.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on VKTX shares. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Maxim Group decreased their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Scotiabank began 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.15.

Insider Activity

In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan acquired 1,240 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $24.15 per share, with a total value of $29,946.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,240 shares in the company, valued at $29,946. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

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.