Brokers Issue Forecasts for Viking Therapeutics, Inc.'s FY2026 Earnings (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) - Analysts at Leerink Partnrs reduced their FY2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, March 26th. Leerink Partnrs analyst T. Smith now anticipates that the biotechnology company will earn ($2.31) per share for the year, down from their prior forecast of ($2.30). The consensus estimate for Viking Therapeutics' current full-year earnings is ($1.10) per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Viking Therapeutics' FY2027 earnings at ($3.40) EPS and FY2028 earnings at ($1.21) EPS.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.25). During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.26) earnings per share.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on VKTX. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $37.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $32.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Maxim Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, March 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $101.89.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VKTX traded down $1.34 during trading on Friday, reaching $82.00. 4,331,410 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,063,718. Viking Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $8.28 and a 52 week high of $99.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.24 billion, a PE ratio of -89.13 and a beta of 1.06. The company's 50 day moving average is $51.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.16.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,381,904 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $100,157,000 after acquiring an additional 97,552 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 88.3% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,119,885 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $20,841,000 after purchasing an additional 525,296 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 29,394 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $547,000 after purchasing an additional 3,866 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 33.3% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 55,236 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,028,000 after purchasing an additional 13,784 shares during the period. Finally, Virtus ETF Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC now owns 4,817 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total transaction of $701,250.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total transaction of $701,250.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.90, for a total transaction of $268,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 180,730 shares in the company, valued at $3,235,067. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 374,079 shares of company stock valued at $9,729,653 in the last ninety days. 4.40% 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.