U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC Has $863,000 Stake in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) by 19.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 35,751 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 8,423 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Viking Therapeutics were worth $863,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Counselors Inc. boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 43.5% in the 1st quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 55,476 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,340,000 after buying an additional 16,823 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 15.0% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 48,139 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,163,000 after purchasing an additional 6,294 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the first quarter worth about $220,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 12.0% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 518,298 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $12,517,000 after purchasing an additional 55,334 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JNBA Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the first quarter worth about $56,000. 76.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

Viking Therapeutics stock traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $31.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,829,639 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,058,336. The company has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.05 and a beta of 0.62. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.92 and a 12 month high of $81.73. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $27.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.38.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.31) by ($0.10). The company's revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.26) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VKTX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price target (down previously from $95.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $87.15.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Brian Lian sold 26,889 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.80, for a total transaction of $747,514.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,388,014 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,386,789.20. This trade represents a 1.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 4,266 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.76, for a total transaction of $118,424.16. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 168,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,682,001.60. This represents a 2.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 35,421 shares of company stock worth $984,405. 4.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Viking Therapeutics

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.