WealthTrust Asset Management LLC Acquires 1,100 Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

WealthTrust Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 23.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,700 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the period. WealthTrust Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $302,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VKTX. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,381,904 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $100,157,000 after buying an additional 97,552 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 70.6% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,518 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 628 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,422,000. Wasatch Advisors LP raised 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 worth $23,727,000 after purchasing an additional 311,681 shares during the period. Finally, Shell Asset Management Co. acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter worth $262,000. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 5,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.72, for a total transaction of $397,404.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $662,340. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 18,026 shares of Viking Therapeutics 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 362,149 shares in the company, valued at $20,689,572.37. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 5,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.72, for a total value of $397,404.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $662,340. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 290,241 shares of company stock worth $17,786,475 over the last ninety days. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 5.8 %

Shares of VKTX stock opened at $68.16 on Friday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $8.28 and a 12 month high of $99.41. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.50. The firm has a market cap of $7.55 billion, a PE ratio of -71.95 and a beta of 1.00.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.06. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.19) EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on VKTX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James increased 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. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, September 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.