William Blair Issues Negative Estimate for VKTX Earnings

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) - Stock analysts at William Blair decreased their Q2 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Viking Therapeutics in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, April 23rd. William Blair analyst A. Hsieh now forecasts that the biotechnology company will earn ($0.45) per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of ($0.36). The consensus estimate for Viking Therapeutics' current full-year earnings is ($1.56) per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Viking Therapeutics' Q3 2025 earnings at ($0.49) EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at ($0.52) EPS, FY2025 earnings at ($1.87) EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at ($0.54) EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at ($0.55) EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at ($0.56) EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at ($0.57) EPS, FY2026 earnings at ($2.22) EPS and FY2027 earnings at ($2.79) EPS.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Citigroup started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Maxim Group cut their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $89.50.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ VKTX opened at $24.99 on Monday. The business's 50 day moving average is $26.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.34. Viking Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $18.92 and a 52-week high of $81.86. The firm has a market cap of $2.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.99 and a beta of 0.84.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.34) by ($0.07). During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.26) EPS.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC lifted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,715,438 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $672,629,000 after acquiring an additional 96,008 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,880,713 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $75,704,000 after purchasing an additional 17,046 shares during the period. Braidwell LP boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 27.9% in the 4th quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 1,479,666 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $59,542,000 after purchasing an additional 322,689 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 228.5% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,479,596 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $59,540,000 after buying an additional 1,029,125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Viking Therapeutics by 446.7% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,357,241 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $54,615,000 after buying an additional 1,108,972 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan acquired 1,240 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 acquisition, the director now owns 1,240 shares in the company, valued at $29,946. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 4.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.