State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Trims Position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 48.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 37,561 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 34,895 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $1,991,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ClariVest Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 241.6% in the second quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC now owns 32,012 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,697,000 after purchasing an additional 22,642 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 123.8% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,258 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 696 shares during the period. Emerald Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 327,046 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $17,337,000 after buying an additional 16,039 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust increased its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 0.8% during the second quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 242,368 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $12,848,000 after buying an additional 1,931 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 3.1% in the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 12,278 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $651,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on VKTX shares. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Maxim Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $108.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Brian Lian sold 115,859 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.58, for a total value of $6,671,161.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,354,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $135,596,696.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 5,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.72, for a total transaction of $397,404.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $662,340. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 115,859 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.58, for a total transaction of $6,671,161.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,354,927 shares in the company, valued at $135,596,696.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 516,671 shares of company stock valued at $33,810,813. 4.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 3.4 %

VKTX stock opened at $70.47 on Friday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.28 and a 52 week high of $99.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.81 billion, a PE ratio of -75.35 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $58.82 and a 200 day moving average of $63.53.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.06. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.19) EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1 earnings per share for the current year.

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.