CNB Bank Boosts Stock Position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

CNB Bank raised its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 185.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,206 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 1,433 shares during the quarter. CNB Bank’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $89,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC lifted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 0.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,619,430 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,052,176,000 after acquiring an additional 79,149 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd increased its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 55.4% during the third quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 1,269,152 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $80,350,000 after purchasing an additional 452,344 shares in the last quarter. Braidwell LP lifted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 1,156,977 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $73,248,000 after purchasing an additional 50,072 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 10,775.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,004,033 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $63,565,000 after purchasing an additional 994,801 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 930,370 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $58,902,000 after buying an additional 143,675 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of VKTX stock opened at $33.24 on Friday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.47 and a 52-week high of $99.41. The stock has a market cap of $3.70 billion, a PE ratio of -35.77 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.15.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on VKTX shares. Piper Sandler started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. B. Riley started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $109.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $138.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.75.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $8,314,447.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,366,570 shares in the company, valued at $101,170,867.50. The trade was a 7.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total value of $889,790.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,500 shares in the company, valued at $768,455. This trade represents a 53.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 443,701 shares of company stock worth $23,898,520 in the last three months. Company 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.