Handelsbanken Fonder AB Grows Holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 47.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,700 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 7,300 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $422,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VKTX. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 270.1% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,048 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 8,063 shares during the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 20.2% in the 3rd quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,028 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $133,000 after purchasing an additional 2,023 shares during the last quarter. Corton Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth about $133,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth about $148,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Maxim Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $37.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total value of $701,250.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Brian Lian sold 269,079 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.87, for a total value of $7,230,152.73. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,184,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,707,779.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total transaction of $701,250.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 4.0 %

NASDAQ VKTX opened at $76.43 on Thursday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.28 and a 52 week high of $99.41. The stock has a market cap of $8.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -82.18 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $70.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.50.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by $0.01. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.25) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.