Braidwell LP Buys 50,072 Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Braidwell LP raised its holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,156,977 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 50,072 shares during the period. Viking Therapeutics makes up 2.1% of Braidwell LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Braidwell LP’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $73,248,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Eventide Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 79.1% in the third quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 452,969 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,677,000 after purchasing an additional 200,000 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 80.6% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 7,721 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $489,000 after purchasing an additional 3,446 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 109.1% in the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 34,023 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,154,000 after purchasing an additional 17,754 shares in the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter worth about $2,911,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 2.9% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 22,823 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,445,000 after purchasing an additional 646 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VKTX opened at $54.51 on Friday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $11.55 and a 1 year high of $99.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -58.61 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $62.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.83.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.23) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total value of $889,790.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 9,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $768,455. The trade was a 53.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 216,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.83, for a total value of $15,308,487.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,304,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $163,257,979.41. The trade was a 8.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 371,117 shares of company stock valued at $27,140,009 in the last three months. 4.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $138.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. B. Riley began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $109.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, September 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.73.

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.