IHT Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

IHT Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 13,348 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $845,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in VKTX. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 84.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 553 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VKTX opened at $50.80 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $61.21 and a 200-day moving average of $59.00. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.70 and a fifty-two week high of $99.41.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.23) earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on VKTX. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Piper Sandler started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $138.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. B. Riley started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $109.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, September 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $106.75.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 216,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.83, for a total value of $15,308,487.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,304,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $163,257,979.41. This trade represents a 8.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 10,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total transaction of $715,850.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $660,250. This trade represents a 52.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 371,117 shares of company stock worth $27,140,009. Insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

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.