Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Sold by GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC

GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC reduced its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 31.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,449 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 650 shares during the period. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $58,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 16.2% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC increased its position in Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 4,306 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 84.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 553 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VKTX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Piper Sandler started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 price target for the company. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. B. Riley started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $109.00 target price for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $106.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $8,314,447.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,366,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,170,867.50. This trade represents a 7.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Lawson Macartney sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.67, for a total value of $137,340.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 47,965 shares in the company, valued at $3,293,756.55. This trade represents a 4.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 301,014 shares of company stock worth $12,920,189 over the last ninety days. 4.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

VKTX opened at $31.52 on Tuesday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.69 and a 1 year high of $99.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $41.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.45. The company has a market cap of $3.51 billion, a PE ratio of -33.89 and a beta of 0.90.

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.