Leerink Partnrs Analysts Decrease Earnings Estimates for Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) – Equities research analysts at Leerink Partnrs lowered their FY2026 earnings estimates for shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report released on Tuesday, March 26th. Leerink Partnrs analyst T. Smith now forecasts that the biotechnology company will post earnings of ($2.31) per share 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.

VKTX has been the subject of several other research reports. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. BTIG Research lifted their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday. Maxim Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.89.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of VKTX stock opened at $82.00 on Friday. Viking Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $8.28 and a 12 month high of $99.41. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $50.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.70.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.25) EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.25). During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.26) EPS.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 237.9% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,894,923 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $111,767,000 after buying an additional 4,854,645 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,381,904 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $100,157,000 after purchasing an additional 97,552 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 2,039.4% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,280,944 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $87,928,000 after purchasing an additional 5,034,102 shares in the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 5,145,112 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $95,751,000 after purchasing an additional 571,796 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 21,586.9% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,961,561 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $48,007,000 after purchasing an additional 2,947,905 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.95, for a total transaction of $838,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,264,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,243,923.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Viking Therapeutics news, CEO Brian Lian sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was 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 directly owns 2,264,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,243,923.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.05, for a total value of $691,500.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 374,079 shares of company stock worth $9,729,653. 4.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.