Viking Therapeutics Stock Slides After Company Misses Q2 Earnings Estimates

Viking Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:VKTX) shares are falling in Wednesday’s after-hours session after the company reported financial results for the second quarter.

Q2 Earnings: Viking Therapeutics reported a second-quarter loss of 58 cents per share, missing analyst estimates for a loss of 46 cents per share, according to Benzinga Pro.

The clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company said research and development expenses totaled $60.2 million in the second quarter, up from $23.8 million in the prior year’s quarter.

Viking Therapeutics ended the period with $808 million in total cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments.

Viking provided several updates on clinical milestones. The company said it recently initiated its VANQUISH Phase 3 registration program and noted that trials are underway for VK2735 in Obesity. Viking also said it completed enrollment of its Phase 2 VENTURE-Oral Dosing trial.

“We believe the study’s rapid enrollment speaks to continued strong demand for new and differentiated weight loss therapies. We remain on track to announce top-line data from the VENTURE-Oral study in the second half of the year,” said Brian Lian, CEO of Viking Therapeutics.

Viking said it continues to make progress on its amylin agonist program with an IND filing expected to be submitted later this year.

The company noted that its cash position is expected to support the advancement of VK2735 through Phase 3 clinical trials, as well as further progress in other key development programs.

VKTX Price Action: Viking Therapeutics shares were down 6.74% in after-hours, trading at $31.15 at the time of publication Wednesday, according to Benzinga Pro.

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