Rafferty Asset Management LLC Buys 41,888 Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX

Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 26.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 199,387 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 41,888 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $5,240,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VKTX. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter worth $230,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 37,300 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $980,000 after acquiring an additional 5,200 shares in the last quarter. DNB Asset Management AS increased its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 22,721 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $597,000 after acquiring an additional 1,853 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL lifted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 36.4% during the 3rd quarter. Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL now owns 10,690 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $281,000 after acquiring an additional 2,850 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VKTX. BTIG Research upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Zacks Research raised Viking Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $99.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.80.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 1.5%

VKTX stock opened at $33.34 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.25. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.92 and a 12-month high of $43.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.85 billion, a PE ratio of -10.48 and a beta of 0.75.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.38) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.89) by ($0.49). During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.32) earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director Matthew W. Foehr sold 16,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.11, for a total value of $561,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 132,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,635,783.96. The trade was a 10.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 233,409 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.96, for a total transaction of $7,693,160.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,499,291 shares in the company, valued at approximately $82,376,631.36. The trade was a 8.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 364,731 shares of company stock worth $12,053,627 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Profile

Viking Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders. Headquartered in San Diego, California, the company’s pipeline leverages small-molecule approaches to target hormone signaling pathways implicated in conditions such as non?alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes and muscle wasting disorders.

The company’s lead programs include VK2809, a thyroid hormone receptor?beta agonist designed to reduce liver fat and improve lipid profiles in patients with NASH and dyslipidemia, and VK5211, a selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) aimed at enhancing muscle mass and function in individuals with muscle wasting conditions.