Q2 2024 EPS Estimates for Viking Therapeutics, Inc. Lowered by HC Wainwright (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) – Analysts at HC Wainwright cut their Q2 2024 earnings estimates for Viking Therapeutics in a research report issued on Thursday, April 25th. HC Wainwright analyst J. Pantginis now anticipates that the biotechnology company will post earnings of ($0.28) per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of ($0.19). HC Wainwright currently has a “Buy” rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Viking Therapeutics’ current full-year earnings is ($1.05) per share. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Viking Therapeutics’ Q3 2024 earnings at ($0.29) EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at ($0.30) EPS and FY2024 earnings at ($1.14) EPS.

VKTX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Maxim Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, March 15th. 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 upped their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $32.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $112.25.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of VKTX opened at $75.42 on Monday. Viking Therapeutics has a one year low of $8.28 and a one year high of $99.41. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $69.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.01. The company has a market capitalization of $8.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -81.10 and a beta of 1.05.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.27) by $0.01. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.25) earnings per share.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 370.7% in the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 353 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. LifeSteps Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth $61,000. Institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 available at this link. In other news, CEO Brian Lian sold 269,079 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.87, for a total value of $7,230,152.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,184,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,707,779.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 25,000 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total transaction of $701,250.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Viking Therapeutics

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.