William Blair Issues Pessimistic Outlook for VKTX Earnings

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) – Analysts at William Blair lowered their Q3 2025 earnings estimates for shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report released on Thursday, July 24th. William Blair analyst A. Hsieh now forecasts that the biotechnology company will post earnings per share of ($0.73) for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of ($0.49). The consensus estimate for Viking Therapeutics’ current full-year earnings is ($1.56) per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Viking Therapeutics’ Q4 2025 earnings at ($0.74) EPS, FY2025 earnings at ($2.47) EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at ($0.76) EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at ($0.77) EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at ($0.78) EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at ($0.78) EPS, FY2026 earnings at ($3.09) EPS and FY2027 earnings at ($3.55) EPS.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.58) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by ($0.14). During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.20) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up NaN% compared to the same quarter last year.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on VKTX. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target (down from $95.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.92.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VKTX opened at $32.91 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $28.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.70 billion, a PE ratio of -21.51 and a beta of 0.62. Viking Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $18.92 and a 12 month high of $81.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 4,266 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.77, for a total value of $118,466.82. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 377,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,484,146.95. The trade was a 1.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 26,889 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.80, for a total value of $747,514.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,388,014 shares in the company, valued at $66,386,789.20. This represents a 1.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,421 shares of company stock worth $984,405 in the last quarter. 4.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VKTX. FIL Ltd grew its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 116.8% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,203 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 1,621.4% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,205 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 1,135 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 170.2% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 64.8% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,363 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 536 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at $63,000. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.