Viking Therapeutics (VKTX) Competitors

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) and Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MDGL) are both mid-cap medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, media sentiment, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership and dividends.

Do analysts rate VKTX or MDGL?

Viking Therapeutics presently has a consensus price target of $87.15, suggesting a potential upside of 175.54%. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals has a consensus price target of $420.63, suggesting a potential upside of 21.93%. Given Viking Therapeutics' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Viking Therapeutics is more favorable than Madrigal Pharmaceuticals.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Viking Therapeutics	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	10 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Madrigal Pharmaceuticals	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	8 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.89

Is VKTX or MDGL more profitable?

Viking Therapeutics has a net margin of 0.00% compared to Madrigal Pharmaceuticals' net margin of -123.38%. Viking Therapeutics' return on equity of -14.41% beat Madrigal Pharmaceuticals' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Viking Therapeutics	N/A	-14.41%	-14.02%
Madrigal Pharmaceuticals	-123.38%	-50.54%	-37.19%

Which has preferable valuation & earnings, VKTX or MDGL?

Viking Therapeutics has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Madrigal Pharmaceuticals. Viking Therapeutics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Viking Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	-$109.96M	-$1.15	-27.50
Madrigal Pharmaceuticals	$180.13M	42.52	-$465.89M	-$18.05	-19.11

Which has more volatility & risk, VKTX or MDGL?

Viking Therapeutics has a beta of 0.62, meaning that its share price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Madrigal Pharmaceuticals has a beta of -1.05, meaning that its share price is 205% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders & institutionals hold more shares of VKTX or MDGL?

76.0% of Viking Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.5% of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals shares are held by institutional investors. 4.1% of Viking Therapeutics shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 21.5% of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the media prefer VKTX or MDGL?

In the previous week, Viking Therapeutics had 3 more articles in the media than Madrigal Pharmaceuticals. MarketBeat recorded 11 mentions for Viking Therapeutics and 8 mentions for Madrigal Pharmaceuticals. Viking Therapeutics' average media sentiment score of 1.12 beat Madrigal Pharmaceuticals' score of 1.12 indicating that Viking Therapeutics is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Viking Therapeutics	9 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Madrigal Pharmaceuticals	4 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Summary

Viking Therapeutics beats Madrigal Pharmaceuticals on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.