Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Buys 748 Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,251 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 748 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $1,789,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 84.3% during the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 553 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VKTX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $138.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. B. Riley assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $109.00 target price on the stock. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $109.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total transaction of $889,790.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,500 shares in the company, valued at $768,455. This trade represents a 53.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Lawson Macartney sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.67, for a total transaction of $137,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 47,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,293,756.55. The trade was a 4.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 371,117 shares of company stock valued at $27,140,009. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 2.9 %

VKTX stock opened at $52.94 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $62.77 and its 200-day moving average is $59.83. The company has a market cap of $5.90 billion, a P/E ratio of -56.92 and a beta of 1.00. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $11.82 and a twelve month high of $99.41.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.23) EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.