Leerink Partnrs Issues Negative Outlook for VKTX Earnings

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) – Analysts at Leerink Partnrs lowered their Q2 2025 earnings per share estimates for Viking Therapeutics in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, April 23rd. Leerink Partnrs analyst T. Smith now expects that the biotechnology company will post earnings per share of ($0.44) for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of ($0.41). The consensus estimate for Viking Therapeutics’ current full-year earnings is ($1.56) per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Viking Therapeutics’ Q4 2025 earnings at ($0.49) EPS, FY2025 earnings at ($1.81) EPS, FY2026 earnings at ($2.40) EPS, FY2027 earnings at ($3.87) EPS and FY2028 earnings at ($1.12) EPS.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price target for the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Maxim Group decreased their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $102.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.15.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 7.7 %

VKTX stock opened at $27.94 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.98. The company has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -27.94 and a beta of 0.84. Viking Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $18.92 and a twelve month high of $81.86.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.31) by ($0.10). The company’s quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.26) earnings per share.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan bought 1,240 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $24.15 per share, with a total value of $29,946.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 1,240 shares in the company, valued at $29,946. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 4.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Financial Counselors Inc. increased its position in Viking Therapeutics by 43.5% during the 1st quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 55,476 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,340,000 after purchasing an additional 16,823 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 15.0% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 48,139 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,163,000 after buying an additional 6,294 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 12.0% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 518,298 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $12,517,000 after buying an additional 55,334 shares during the period. Finally, JNBA Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the first quarter worth approximately $56,000. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.