Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Increases Position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 58.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 452,011 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 165,851 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned about 0.41% of Viking Therapeutics worth $23,961,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VKTX. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 44.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,785,724 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $638,429,000 after purchasing an additional 2,403,820 shares in the last quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at approximately $294,380,000. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,274,945 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $23,727,000 after acquiring an additional 311,681 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 88.3% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,119,885 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $20,841,000 after acquiring an additional 525,296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perpetual Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $78,586,000. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VKTX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Maxim Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Raymond James raised their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price target for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $108.60.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 115,859 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $135,596,696.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 20,786 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.53, for a total value of $1,195,818.58. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $546,535. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 115,859 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,354,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $135,596,696.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 516,671 shares of company stock valued at $33,810,813 in the last quarter. Insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Viking Therapeutics stock opened at $70.47 on Monday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.28 and a 12-month high of $99.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.77 billion, a PE ratio of -75.77 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.01.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.06. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.19) EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.