Private Wealth Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 5,000 Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Private Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 5,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $265,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in VKTX. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in Viking Therapeutics by 370.7% in the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 353 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the second quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at $61,000. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Viking Therapeutics news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 18,026 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.13, for a total transaction of $1,029,825.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 362,149 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,689,572.37. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 5,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.72, for a total value of $397,404.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $662,340. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 18,026 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.13, for a total transaction of $1,029,825.38. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 362,149 shares in the company, valued at $20,689,572.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 290,241 shares of company stock valued at $17,786,475. 4.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VKTX opened at $60.83 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -65.41 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50-day moving average is $57.44 and its 200 day moving average is $63.89. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $8.28 and a fifty-two week high of $99.41.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.06. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.19) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on VKTX shares. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, June 17th. StockNews.com raised Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Maxim Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, July 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $108.60.

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.