Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Purchases Shares of 32,250 Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 32,250 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,258,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VKTX. Ballast Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Quattro Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the second quarter worth $53,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at $56,000. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VKTX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $83.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Lake Street Capital initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $89.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Viking Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.62.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 3.4%

NASDAQ VKTX opened at $33.68 on Wednesday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.96 and a 12-month high of $43.15. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.55. The stock has a market cap of $3.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.23 and a beta of 0.69.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.10) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.21) by $0.11. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.58) EPS. Viking Therapeutics’s revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CFO Greg Zante sold 21,217 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.47, for a total transaction of $710,132.99. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 212,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,102,467.88. The trade was a 9.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 148,517 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.32, for a total value of $4,948,586.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,572,441 shares in the company, valued at $85,713,734.12. This represents a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 187,951 shares of company stock worth $6,268,442. 5.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Viking Therapeutics Company Profile

Viking Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders. Headquartered in San Diego, California, the company’s pipeline leverages small-molecule approaches to target hormone signaling pathways implicated in conditions such as non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes and muscle wasting disorders.

The company’s lead programs include VK2809, a thyroid hormone receptor‐beta agonist designed to reduce liver fat and improve lipid profiles in patients with NASH and dyslipidemia, and VK5211, a selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) aimed at enhancing muscle mass and function in individuals with muscle wasting conditions.