Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Takes $528,000 Position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 13,284 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $528,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VKTX. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $32,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% during the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CNB Bank acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of VKTX opened at $29.32 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.27 billion, a PE ratio of -29.32 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s 50-day moving average is $38.78 and its 200-day moving average is $53.26. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $29.08 and a fifty-two week high of $99.41.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.25) EPS. Analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $2,150,709.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 165,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,064,822.25. This represents a 23.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $8,314,447.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,366,570 shares in the company, valued at $101,170,867.50. This trade represents a 7.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 299,014 shares of company stock valued at $12,782,849 over the last ninety days. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on VKTX. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Maxim Group reduced their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 6th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued 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 target price of $96.92.

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.