Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.10 EPS

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The biotechnology company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.31) by ($0.10), Zacks reports. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.26) earnings per share. The business's revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of VKTX traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $24.93. 1,617,950 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,426,278. Viking Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $18.92 and a fifty-two week high of $81.86. The stock's 50-day moving average is $26.47 and its 200-day moving average is $40.34. The company has a market cap of $2.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.93 and a beta of 0.84.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan purchased 1,240 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was bought at an average price of $24.15 per share, for a total transaction of $29,946.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,240 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,946. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on VKTX shares. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated 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. Finally, Maxim Group reduced their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $85.75.

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.