Trexquant Investment LP Takes $2.61 Million Position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 64,908 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,612,000. Trexquant Investment LP owned about 0.06% of Viking Therapeutics at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 75.9% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 716 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 170.2% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. S.A. Mason LLC increased its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,800 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $75,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan acquired 1,240 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $24.15 per share, with a total value of $29,946.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,240 shares in the company, valued at $29,946. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ VKTX opened at $21.28 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $2.39 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.28 and a beta of 0.84. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.27 and a 1-year high of $81.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $29.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.73.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.25) EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Maxim Group lowered their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.18.

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.