Research Analysts Issue Forecasts for VKTX FY2024 Earnings

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) – Research analysts at Leerink Partnrs upped their FY2024 earnings estimates for Viking Therapeutics in a note issued to investors on Thursday, October 24th. Leerink Partnrs analyst T. Smith now forecasts that the biotechnology company will post earnings of ($0.92) per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of ($0.94). The consensus estimate for Viking Therapeutics’ current full-year earnings is ($0.98) per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Viking Therapeutics’ Q4 2024 earnings at ($0.24) EPS, FY2025 earnings at ($1.65) EPS, FY2026 earnings at ($2.41) EPS, FY2027 earnings at ($3.83) EPS and FY2028 earnings at ($1.31) EPS.

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

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on VKTX. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $138.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $108.60.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VKTX opened at $73.35 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $63.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.67. Viking Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $9.25 and a fifty-two week high of $99.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -78.87 and a beta of 1.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Brian Lian sold 112,870 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.80, for a total value of $7,426,846.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,354,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $154,954,196.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO Greg Zante sold 131,687 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.61, for a total transaction of $10,088,541.07. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 149,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,442,929.26. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 112,870 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.80, for a total transaction of $7,426,846.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,354,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $154,954,196.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 525,473 shares of company stock valued at $37,088,158 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 84.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.