Perpetual Ltd Buys Shares of 958,368 Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Perpetual Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 958,368 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,586,000. Perpetual Ltd owned 0.87% of Viking Therapeutics at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,381,904 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $100,157,000 after purchasing an additional 97,552 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Viking Therapeutics by 59.6% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,202,228 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $24,379,000 after acquiring an additional 822,156 shares in the last quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C grew its position in Viking Therapeutics by 13.7% in the third quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C now owns 1,279,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $14,159,000 after acquiring an additional 154,000 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its position in Viking Therapeutics by 32.4% in the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,274,945 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $23,727,000 after acquiring an additional 311,681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Viking Therapeutics by 88.3% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,119,885 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $20,841,000 after acquiring an additional 525,296 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Greg Zante sold 66,756 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.69, for a total transaction of $4,986,005.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 174,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,059,845.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 281,425 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.66, for a total value of $22,136,890.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 348,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,413,639.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 66,756 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.69, for a total transaction of $4,986,005.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 174,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,059,845.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VKTX has been the subject of several research reports. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $110.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $112.38.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VKTX traded down $0.21 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $50.43. 2,929,170 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,892,928. The business’s 50 day moving average is $65.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.86. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $8.28 and a one year high of $99.41.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by $0.01. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.25) EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.08 EPS for the current 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.