Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Acquired by First Washington CORP

First Washington CORP boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 316.1% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 39,690 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,152 shares during the quarter. First Washington CORP’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $2,104,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 370.7% during the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 353 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 140.8% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 802 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VKTX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. StockNews.com upgraded Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, June 17th. One equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $108.60.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CEO Brian Lian sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.90, for a total value of $69,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,354,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $164,609,397.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 5,700 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,500 shares in the company, valued at $662,340. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.90, for a total transaction of $69,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,354,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $164,609,397.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 290,241 shares of company stock valued at $17,786,475. 4.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 6.2 %

Shares of VKTX stock opened at $62.94 on Wednesday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $8.28 and a 12 month high of $99.41. The firm has a market cap of $6.94 billion, a PE ratio of -67.68 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $58.32 and a 200-day moving average of $63.65.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.06. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.19) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.99 EPS 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.