HC Wainwright Issues Pessimistic Estimate for VKTX Earnings

Key Points

• HC Wainwright has lowered its Q3 2025 EPS estimate for Viking Therapeutics to ($0.71) per share, a significant drop from the previous estimate of ($0.45), while still maintaining a "Buy" rating with a target price of $102.00.
• The company reported an EPS of ($0.58) for the last quarter, which missed analysts' expectations by ($0.14) and showed a decline from the previous year's EPS of ($0.20).
• Despite recent insider stock sales, institutional investors continue to hold a significant stake, with hedge funds and institutional investors owning approximately 76.03% of the stock.

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) - HC Wainwright dropped their Q3 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Viking Therapeutics in a note issued to investors on Thursday, July 24th. HC Wainwright analyst J. Pantginis now expects that the biotechnology company will post earnings per share of ($0.71) for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of ($0.45). HC Wainwright currently has a "Buy" rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Viking Therapeutics' current full-year earnings is ($1.56) per share. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Viking Therapeutics' Q4 2025 earnings at ($0.79) EPS and FY2025 earnings at ($2.48) EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on VKTX. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup raised their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Viking Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $86.92.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VKTX traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $32.91. 3,823,971 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,114,896. Viking Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $18.92 and a 1 year high of $81.73. The company has a market cap of $3.70 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.51 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.54.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.58) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.44) by ($0.14). During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.20) earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up NaN% compared to the same quarter last year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its position in Viking Therapeutics by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 14,961 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $396,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC now owns 44,060 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,168,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the period. HighMark Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,660 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $113,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 14,470 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 446 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 33.4% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,818 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 455 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 26,889 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.80, for a total transaction of $747,514.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,388,014 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $66,386,789.20. This trade represents a 1.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 4,266 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.76, for a total value of $118,424.16. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 168,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,682,001.60. The trade was a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,421 shares of company stock valued at $984,405. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by 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.