Research Analysts Set Expectations for VKTX FY2024 Earnings

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) – Investment analysts at HC Wainwright raised their FY2024 EPS estimates for shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, October 24th. HC Wainwright analyst J. Pantginis now forecasts that the biotechnology company will earn ($0.94) per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of ($0.95). HC Wainwright currently has a “Buy” rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Viking Therapeutics’ current full-year earnings is ($1.00) per share. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Viking Therapeutics’ Q4 2024 earnings at ($0.24) EPS.

VKTX has been the topic of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $138.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com raised Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $108.60.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

Viking Therapeutics stock opened at $78.03 on Monday. Viking Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $8.28 and a fifty-two week high of $99.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -83.90 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $63.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.61.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.23) EPS.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.90, for a total transaction of $69,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,354,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $164,609,397.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.90, for a total transaction of $69,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,354,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $164,609,397.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total transaction of $889,790.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $768,455. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 527,671 shares of company stock valued at $34,700,603 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 16.2% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 84.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 553 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. 9258 Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,379 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,015,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in Viking Therapeutics by 3.1% in the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 12,278 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $651,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.