U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. $VKTX

U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) by 48.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 94,165 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 30,619 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $2,475,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Sheets Smith Investment Management purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $351,000. Pinnacle Wealth Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $251,000. PVG Asset Management Corp increased its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. PVG Asset Management Corp now owns 11,258 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $298,000 after purchasing an additional 2,205 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $969,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth about $132,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on VKTX. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, September 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $105.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Three 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.14.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 3.7%

NASDAQ:VKTX opened at $35.19 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $36.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.71. The company has a market cap of $3.98 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.60 and a beta of 0.65. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.92 and a twelve month high of $45.00.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.81) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.67) by ($0.14). During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.22) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 6,185 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $216,475.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 382,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,386,345. This trade represents a 1.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Charles A. Rowland, Jr. sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.57, for a total value of $2,134,200.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 30,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,067,100. This trade represents a 66.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 111,359 shares of company stock worth $3,932,155 in the last three months. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics 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.