Vestcor Inc Takes $741,000 Position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Vestcor Inc bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 11,700 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $741,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cetera Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $239,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 70.6% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,518 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 628 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 112.7% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,750 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $835,000 after acquiring an additional 8,344 shares during the last quarter. World Equity Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $331,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 25.8% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 308,446 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $16,351,000 after acquiring an additional 63,206 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of VKTX opened at $47.87 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $60.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.61. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.23 and a 52 week high of $99.41.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.23) earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.97 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, September 12th. StockNews.com upgraded Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 price target on the stock. B. Riley initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $109.00 price objective for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.75.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 10,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total value of $715,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,500 shares in the company, valued at $660,250. The trade was a 52.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Lawson Macartney sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.67, for a total value of $137,340.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 47,965 shares in the company, valued at $3,293,756.55. This trade represents a 4.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 371,117 shares of company stock valued at $27,140,009. 4.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.