Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.49 EPS

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The biotechnology company reported ($1.55) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.06) by ($0.49), FiscalAI reports. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.81) earnings per share.

Here are the key takeaways from Viking Therapeutics’ conference call:

• VK2735’s phase III programs remain on track: the injectable VANQUISH-1 and VANQUISH-2 trials are fully enrolled and advancing, while the oral SUNRISE-1 and SUNRISE-2 registration studies have now begun.
• A maintenance-dosing study showed patients retained approximately 82%–97% of prior weight loss after switching from weekly injections to every-other-week or monthly dosing, with tolerability broadly comparable to placebo. Viking has started a follow-up study evaluating oral and additional subcutaneous maintenance regimens, with results expected in 2027.
• Viking ended the quarter with $960 million in cash and short-term investments after raising approximately $575 million in gross proceeds from stock and convertible-note offerings, extending funding for clinical development and potential commercial preparations.
• Expenses and losses increased substantially as the company expanded its clinical and commercial infrastructure; third-quarter R&D expense rose to $166.8 million and net loss widened to $183.2 million, while management expects average cash usage of roughly $100 million per quarter going forward.
• The phase I single-ascending-dose study of amylin/calcitonin receptor agonist VK3019 is expected to finish by year-end, followed by a multiple-ascending-dose study in the first quarter of 2027; management views both standalone and VK2735 combination applications as potential opportunities but emphasized that the program remains early-stage.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

VKTX stock opened at $26.53 on Friday. Viking Therapeutics has a one year low of $23.82 and a one year high of $43.15. The firm has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a PE ratio of -5.02 and a beta of 0.66. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $30.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.44.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VKTX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Barclays raised Viking Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Truist Financial cut their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $87.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, October 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.27.

About Viking Therapeutics

Viking Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in San Diego, California. Founded in 2012, the company develops therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders, with a focus on conditions involving obesity, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and other liver and lipid disorders.

Viking’s lead program is VK2735, an investigational dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist being developed in injectable and oral formulations for obesity and related metabolic conditions.