Q1 EPS Estimate for Viking Therapeutics Decreased by Analyst

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) - Equities researchers at William Blair reduced their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report issued on Wednesday, February 5th. William Blair analyst A. Hsieh now expects that the biotechnology company will post earnings per share of ($0.34) for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of ($0.28). William Blair currently has a "Outperform" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Viking Therapeutics' current full-year earnings is ($1.41) per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Viking Therapeutics' Q2 2025 earnings at ($0.36) EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at ($0.39) EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at ($0.41) EPS, FY2025 earnings at ($1.51) EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at ($0.44) EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at ($0.46) EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at ($0.47) EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at ($0.47) EPS and FY2026 earnings at ($1.84) EPS.

VKTX has been the topic of a number of other research reports. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $96.00 price target (down previously from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. 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. Scotiabank started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $97.29.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Viking Therapeutics stock traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $29.50. The company had a trading volume of 3,663,468 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,034,338. The stock has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.50 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.09. Viking Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $28.64 and a 12-month high of $99.41.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.25) EPS.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $2,317,691.25. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 374,134 shares in the company, valued at $15,994,228.50. The trade was a 12.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $2,150,709.75. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 165,259 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,064,822.25. This trade represents a 23.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 299,014 shares of company stock valued at $12,782,849 in the last three months. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 155,445 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $6,255,000 after purchasing an additional 29,925 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 20,114 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $809,000 after acquiring an additional 2,256 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 108.5% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,068 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 1,076 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,757,000. Finally, Portolan Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC now owns 128,420 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $5,168,000 after purchasing an additional 2,658 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.03% of the company's stock.

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.