42,134 Shares in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX Purchased by Scotia Capital Inc.

Scotia Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 42,134 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,117,000.

• Viking Therapeutics: High Risk, High Reward Play

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 2.2% during the second quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 14,961 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $396,000 after buying an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 58.4% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. grew its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 6.1% during the second quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 6,220 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $165,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC now owns 44,060 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,168,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 90,750 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,405,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CFO Greg Zante sold 6,185 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $216,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 173,592 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,075,720. The trade was a 3.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 38,989 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.01, for a total transaction of $1,365,004.89. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,419,109 shares in the company, valued at $84,693,006.09. This trade represents a 1.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 111,359 shares of company stock worth $3,932,155. 4.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 6.1%

• Biotech Breakouts: 3 Stocks With Massive Upside Potential

Shares of NASDAQ:VKTX opened at $34.55 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.30 and a beta of 0.65. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.92 and a 12 month high of $52.81. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $33.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.82.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.81) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.67) by ($0.14). The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.22) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

• 3 Biotech Stocks to Watch: Iovance, Neurocrine & Viking

Several research firms have commented on VKTX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. B. Riley raised Viking Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $87.14.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on VKTX

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.

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