Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Purchased by First Washington CORP

First Washington CORP boosted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 316.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,690 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 30,152 shares during the period. First Washington CORP’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $2,104,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the second quarter worth $27,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in Viking Therapeutics by 370.7% during the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 353 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. LifeSteps Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 140.8% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 802 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 6.2 %

VKTX opened at $62.94 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $58.32 and its 200-day moving average is $63.65. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $8.28 and a 52-week high of $99.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.94 billion, a P/E ratio of -67.68 and a beta of 1.00.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.06. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.19) EPS. Equities analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CEO Brian Lian sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.90, for a total transaction of $69,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,354,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $164,609,397.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Brian Lian sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.90, for a total value of $69,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,354,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $164,609,397.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 18,026 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.13, for a total transaction of $1,029,825.38. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 362,149 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,689,572.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 290,241 shares of company stock worth $17,786,475. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, June 17th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Maxim Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $108.60.

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.