Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Invests $976,000 in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 11,906 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $976,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 1,557.6% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 371,604 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,916,000 after purchasing an additional 349,186 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 100.4% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 137,583 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,560,000 after buying an additional 68,921 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 3.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,284,352 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $58,498,000 after buying an additional 171,995 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 32.4% in the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,274,945 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $23,727,000 after buying an additional 311,681 shares during the period. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at $148,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, CFO Greg Zante sold 66,756 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.69, for a total transaction of $4,986,005.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 174,854 shares in the company, valued at $13,059,845.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 281,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.66, for a total transaction of $22,136,890.50. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 348,508 shares in the company, valued at $27,413,639.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 66,756 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.69, for a total transaction of $4,986,005.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 174,854 shares in the company, valued at $13,059,845.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VKTX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $110.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. BTIG Research lifted their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, March 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $112.38.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ:VKTX opened at $52.74 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $64.93 and a 200-day moving average of $50.58. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $8.28 and a one year high of $99.41.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by $0.01. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.25) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.08 EPS for the current year.

Viking Therapeutics 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.