Barclays PLC raised its position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX – Free Report) by 373.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 180,879 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 142,664 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned about 0.23% of Viking Therapeutics worth $3,012,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VKTX. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 177.3% during the 1st quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 23,002 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 14,708 shares during the last quarter. 70.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Viking Therapeutics Price Performance
Shares of NASDAQ VKTX opened at $14.69 on Tuesday. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2.53 and a 52-week high of $25.72. The business’s 50 day moving average is $17.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.36.
Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 26th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.19) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.21) by $0.02. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.23) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several research analysts have recently weighed in on VKTX shares. Raymond James boosted their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $35.00 to $37.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 17th. Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, May 30th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $30.00 to $35.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, August 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $21.00 to $33.00 in a report on Thursday, April 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.25.
Viking Therapeutics Company 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.