What is Leerink Partnrs’ Estimate for VKTX FY2025 Earnings?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) – Equities research analysts at Leerink Partnrs decreased their FY2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, February 5th. Leerink Partnrs analyst T. Smith now forecasts that the biotechnology company will earn ($1.74) per share for the year, down from their prior estimate of ($1.65). The consensus estimate for Viking Therapeutics’ current full-year earnings is ($1.41) per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Viking Therapeutics’ FY2026 earnings at ($2.30) EPS, FY2027 earnings at ($3.81) EPS and FY2028 earnings at ($1.11) EPS.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.25) EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on VKTX. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $96.00 price objective (down from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.92.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 7.3 %

VKTX stock opened at $30.17 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $39.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.68. Viking Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $29.82 and a 12 month high of $99.41. The firm has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -30.17 and a beta of 0.90.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $8,314,447.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,366,570 shares in the company, valued at $101,170,867.50. The trade was a 7.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $2,317,691.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 374,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,994,228.50. This trade represents a 12.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 299,014 shares of company stock valued at $12,782,849. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VKTX. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 16.2% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management raised its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 5.9% in the third quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 4,306 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $273,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, S.A. Mason LLC grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,800 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

About Viking Therapeutics

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.