HC Wainwright Weighs in on Viking Therapeutics, Inc.’s Q2 2024 Earnings (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) – Equities researchers at HC Wainwright decreased their Q2 2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, April 25th. HC Wainwright analyst J. Pantginis now expects that the biotechnology company will post earnings of ($0.28) per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of ($0.19). HC Wainwright has a “Buy” rating and a $90.00 price objective 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.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by $0.01. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.25) EPS.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on VKTX. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $32.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Maxim Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $112.25.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 5.5 %

Shares of Viking Therapeutics stock opened at $79.58 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -85.57 and a beta of 1.05. Viking Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $8.28 and a 12 month high of $99.41.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VKTX. Perpetual Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter worth $78,586,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 59.6% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,202,228 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $24,379,000 after purchasing an additional 822,156 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $12,341,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 88.3% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,119,885 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $20,841,000 after purchasing an additional 525,296 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 194.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 765,320 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $8,472,000 after purchasing an additional 505,578 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 25,000 shares of the 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 269,079 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.87, for a total value of $7,230,152.73. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,184,882 shares in the company, valued at $58,707,779.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 25,000 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was 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. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

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.