Nemes Rush Group LLC Makes New $93,000 Investment in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Nemes Rush Group LLC purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $93,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 270.1% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,048 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $122,000 after buying an additional 8,063 shares during the last quarter. JFG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $223,000. 9258 Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 20.2% in the third quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,028 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $133,000 after acquiring an additional 2,023 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corton Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $133,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VKTX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $112.38.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 281,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.66, for a total transaction of $22,136,890.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 348,508 shares in the company, valued at $27,413,639.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Viking Therapeutics news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 281,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.66, for a total value of $22,136,890.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 348,508 shares in the company, valued at $27,413,639.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 66,756 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.69, for a total value of $4,986,005.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 174,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,059,845.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 1.9 %

NASDAQ:VKTX traded down $1.23 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $63.00. The stock had a trading volume of 1,608,642 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,178,779. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $8.28 and a twelve month high of $99.41. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.25. The company has a market capitalization of $6.95 billion, a PE ratio of -67.63 and a beta of 1.12.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.27) by $0.01. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.25) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.