Bokf Na Takes Position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Bokf Na bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 12,396 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $985,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 370.7% in the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 353 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. 9258 Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 2.9% in the first quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,379 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,015,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. LifeSteps Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 125.6% in the first quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,015 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CFO Greg Zante sold 66,756 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 174,854 shares in the company, valued at $13,059,845.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Viking Therapeutics news, CFO Greg Zante sold 66,756 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 174,854 shares in the company, valued at $13,059,845.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 281,425 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.66, for a total transaction of $22,136,890.50. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 348,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,413,639.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

VKTX stock traded down $2.16 on Monday, reaching $63.82. 1,261,128 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,825,894. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $8.28 and a 12 month high of $99.41. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $55.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.07 billion, a PE ratio of -70.95 and a beta of 1.03.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.06. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.19) EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on VKTX shares. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Maxim Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.78.

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.