Sarah Kathryn Rouan Purchases 1,240 Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan acquired 1,240 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $24.15 per share, for a total transaction of $29,946.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,946. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of VKTX opened at $25.68 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.68 and a beta of 0.84. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.27 and a 52-week high of $81.86. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.78.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.25) EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 75.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 716 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. FIL Ltd boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 116.8% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,203 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 170.2% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VKTX. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and set a $96.00 price objective (down from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.18.

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.