Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.07 EPS

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The biotechnology company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.34) by ($0.07), Zacks reports. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.26) earnings per share.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 3.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ VKTX traded down $0.84 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $24.82. The company had a trading volume of 2,137,435 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,050,512. Viking Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $18.92 and a 52 week high of $81.86. The business's 50-day moving average is $26.56 and its 200-day moving average is $40.93. The stock has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.78 and a beta of 0.84.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan acquired 1,240 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $24.15 per share, with a total value of $29,946.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,240 shares in the company, valued at $29,946. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 4.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VKTX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $96.00 target price (down from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Maxim Group cut their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $89.50.

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.