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

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) - Analysts at Leerink Partnrs dropped their FY2026 EPS estimates for Viking Therapeutics in a report issued on Tuesday, March 26th. Leerink Partnrs analyst T. Smith now forecasts that the biotechnology company will post earnings per share of ($2.31) for the year, down from their prior estimate 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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 company earned ($0.26) EPS.

VKTX has been the topic of a number of other reports. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $110.00 target price for the company. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $37.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $32.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $112.25.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ VKTX traded down $1.34 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $82.00. 4,331,410 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,915,032. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $51.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.33. Viking Therapeutics has a one year low of $8.28 and a one year high of $99.41. The company has a market cap of $8.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -89.13 and a beta of 1.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Greg Zante sold 15,000 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 180,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,235,067. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Viking Therapeutics news, CEO Brian Lian sold 35,000 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.95, for a total value of $838,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,264,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at $54,243,923.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 15,000 shares of Viking Therapeutics 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 180,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,235,067. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 374,079 shares of company stock valued at $9,729,653 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 4.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VKTX. Retirement Group LLC increased its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 75.0% in the second quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 2,100 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at $36,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 66.5% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,346 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 937 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.