Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Has $22.66 Million Holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA decreased its holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 7.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 696,301 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 56,431 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $22,658,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VKTX. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 41.8% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,092,840 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $55,000,000 after purchasing an additional 616,526 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 58.7% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,085,487 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $54,807,000 after buying an additional 771,704 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 24.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,994,509 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $70,183,000 after buying an additional 385,903 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 536.3% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 992,695 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $34,923,000 after buying an additional 836,686 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its position in Viking Therapeutics by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 954,272 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $25,078,000 after buying an additional 131,994 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VKTX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Lake Street Capital started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $89.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $83.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.60.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 3.9%

NASDAQ:VKTX opened at $37.48 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $31.78 and its 200 day moving average is $32.65. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.96 and a 12 month high of $43.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.35 billion, a PE ratio of -9.05 and a beta of 0.66.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.37) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.01) by ($0.36). During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.41) earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -4.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Viking Therapeutics Company Profile

Viking Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders. Headquartered in San Diego, California, the company’s pipeline leverages small-molecule approaches to target hormone signaling pathways implicated in conditions such as non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes and muscle wasting disorders.

The company’s lead programs include VK2809, a thyroid hormone receptor‐beta agonist designed to reduce liver fat and improve lipid profiles in patients with NASH and dyslipidemia, and VK5211, a selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) aimed at enhancing muscle mass and function in individuals with muscle wasting conditions.