Viking Therapeutics Emerges as Potential Acquisition Target in Biotech
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: 6 days ago
0mins
Source: Fool
- Obesity Drug Market Potential: Viking Therapeutics' VK2735 demonstrated strong efficacy in a recent Phase 2 oral obesity study, with patients achieving an average weight loss of 12.2% over 13 weeks, indicating its competitive edge in the obesity market and likely attracting interest from large pharmaceutical companies.
- Clinical Trial Progress: Viking's Phase 3 VANQUISH obesity studies are fully enrolled, and management expects to initiate Phase 3 trials for the oral formulation later this year, which will further validate VK2735's market potential and drive up the company's valuation.
- Strong Financial Position: As of Q1 2026, Viking holds approximately $603 million in cash and investments, which is expected to fund operations into 2028, providing the company with flexibility during acquisition negotiations and reducing immediate financing pressures.
- Clear Acquisition Logic: If a larger pharmaceutical company believes VK2735 can compete effectively in the obesity and diabetes markets, acquiring Viking could be less costly than waiting for the asset to reach commercialization, although the success of such acquisitions remains unpredictable.
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Analyst Views on VKTX
Wall Street analysts forecast VKTX stock price to rise
12 Analyst Rating
12 Buy
0 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 32.190
Low
70.00
Averages
97.00
High
125.00
Current: 32.190
Low
70.00
Averages
97.00
High
125.00
About VKTX
Viking Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that is focused on the development of therapies for the treatment of metabolic and endocrine disorders. Its clinical programs include VK2735, a novel dual agonist of the glucagon-like peptide 1 and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide receptors for the potential treatment of various metabolic disorders. It is evaluating an oral formulation of VK2735 in a Phase II trial. It is also developing VK2809, a novel, orally available, small molecule selective thyroid hormone receptor beta agonist for the treatment of lipid and metabolic disorders. Its newest program is evaluating a series of internally developed dual amylin and calcitonin receptor agonists for the treatment of obesity and other metabolic disorders. In the rare disease space, it is developing VK0214, a novel, orally available, small molecule selective thyroid hormone receptor beta agonist for the potential treatment of X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
Truist Initiates Coverage on VKTX with Buy Rating and $83 Price Target
- Analyst Rating Boost: Truist has initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics (VKTX) with a ‘Buy’ rating and an $83 price target, indicating a potential upside of 162% from current levels, reflecting strong market confidence in its growth prospects.
- Weight Loss Market Dynamics: Eli Lilly (LLY) saw its stock price climb nearly 25% over the past month, making it the strongest performer among major obesity drug stocks, highlighting investor recognition of its sustained demand for GLP-1 therapies and market leadership.
- Viking's Competitive Edge: Truist emphasized that Viking's VK2735 drug achieved a 14.7% weight loss in just 13 weeks, with patients continuing to lose weight, showcasing its differentiated competitive advantage in the obesity drug market that could attract more patients.
- Lilly's Market Expansion: Lilly recently announced deals worth up to $3.8 billion with three vaccine developers, further expanding its footprint in infectious diseases and long-term healthcare infrastructure, indicating growth potential beyond its obesity drug portfolio.
See More
Obesity Drug Market Poised for Growth
- Market Potential: The obesity drug market is projected to reach nearly $100 billion by 2030, prompting significant investor interest and confidence, which could lead to substantial stock price increases for companies in this sector.
- Viking Therapeutics Progress: Viking Therapeutics is conducting phase 3 trials for VK-2735, with promising early results suggesting potential market success; strong data could drive stock prices higher, enhancing the company's competitive position in obesity treatment.
- AbbVie's Strategic Development: AbbVie is studying a long-acting amylin analog, with early trials indicating weight loss of 7% to 9%, which could add significant growth potential to its portfolio and strengthen its market position if successfully commercialized.
- Investor Optimism: As demand for obesity drugs rises, the potential success of Viking and AbbVie may attract more investor attention, driving stock prices up, especially against a backdrop of increasing market expectations for new therapies.
See More
Weight Loss Drug Market Poised for Growth
- Market Potential: Analysts predict the weight loss drug market could reach nearly $100 billion in the coming years, attracting significant investment into pharma and biotech companies, indicating strong growth prospects in this sector.
- Viking Therapeutics Progress: Viking Therapeutics is conducting phase 3 trials for VK-2735, with promising early results suggesting it could carve out a niche in the weight loss market, and strong data could drive the stock price higher again.
- AbbVie's New Strategy: AbbVie is studying a long-acting amylin analog, with early trials showing weight loss of 7% to 9%, which could add significant growth potential to its product portfolio if successful.
- Investment Opportunity Analysis: AbbVie’s price-to-earnings ratio is currently at 15 times, down from over 24 times a few months ago, indicating substantial room for stock price appreciation, with potential for doubling in the near future.
See More
Viking Therapeutics Faces Competitive Pressures
- Intensifying Market Competition: Viking Therapeutics' weight-loss candidate VK2735 showed promising results in clinical trials, but increasing competition from new product launches by Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk may impact Viking's market share significantly.
- Dramatic Stock Price Decline: Viking's stock price has plummeted from nearly $100 to below $30, reflecting investor pessimism regarding its future prospects, particularly in light of stronger competitors entering the market.
- Cash Burn Risks: With approximately $603 million in cash on hand but burning through about $114 million per quarter, Viking may face dilution risks if it fails to raise additional funds soon, further undermining investor confidence.
- Slow Clinical Progress: Although VK2735 remains in clinical trials, competitors are advancing in drug development, potentially placing Viking at a disadvantage in the market and affecting its long-term growth potential.
See More
Viking Therapeutics Stock Plummets, Future Uncertain
- Significant Stock Decline: Viking Therapeutics' stock has plummeted from nearly $100 to below $30, indicating a sharp decline in investor confidence, particularly as competitors like Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly continue to launch new drugs.
- Disappointing Clinical Trial Results: Although VK2735 showed promising results in early trials, subsequent data revealed worse-than-expected side effects, leading to a negative shift in public perception and investor sentiment.
- Increasing Cash Burn: With approximately $603 million in cash on hand but burning through about $114 million per quarter, Viking may face the risk of share dilution if it fails to raise additional funds soon, further undermining shareholder confidence.
- Intensifying Market Competition: As Viking strives to bring its weight-loss drug to market, larger competitors like Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly are developing more potent new treatments, making the future market landscape increasingly challenging for Viking and casting doubt on its prospects.
See More
Eli Lilly's Dominance in Weight Loss Drug Market
- Market Share Leadership: Eli Lilly has captured 60% of the U.S. weight loss drug market, surpassing Novo Nordisk, which highlights its strong competitive position in the rapidly growing healthcare sector, with the market expected to reach $100 billion in value by the next decade.
- Breakthrough in Drug Development: Lilly's new candidate, retatrutide, demonstrated impressive results in a phase 3 trial, with the highest dose helping patients lose an average of 28% of their body weight over 80 weeks, and 45% of participants losing more than 30%, indicating its potential to outperform existing products.
- Multiple Mechanism of Action: Retatrutide acts on three hormonal pathways related to appetite and blood sugar management, while Novo Nordisk's drugs target only one pathway, suggesting that retatrutide may offer greater weight loss potential and could become a new favorite in the market.
- Future Market Outlook: With retatrutide's strong efficacy and safety profile, Lilly is poised to apply for regulatory approval in the coming years, further solidifying its market position and potentially delivering high returns for investors as the value of the weight loss drug market continues to rise.
See More
Truist Initiates Coverage on VKTX with Buy Rating and $83 Price Target
- Analyst Rating Boost: Truist has initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics (VKTX) with a ‘Buy’ rating and an $83 price target, indicating a potential upside of 162% from current levels, reflecting strong market confidence in its growth prospects.
- Weight Loss Market Dynamics: Eli Lilly (LLY) saw its stock price climb nearly 25% over the past month, making it the strongest performer among major obesity drug stocks, highlighting investor recognition of its sustained demand for GLP-1 therapies and market leadership.
- Viking's Competitive Edge: Truist emphasized that Viking's VK2735 drug achieved a 14.7% weight loss in just 13 weeks, with patients continuing to lose weight, showcasing its differentiated competitive advantage in the obesity drug market that could attract more patients.
- Lilly's Market Expansion: Lilly recently announced deals worth up to $3.8 billion with three vaccine developers, further expanding its footprint in infectious diseases and long-term healthcare infrastructure, indicating growth potential beyond its obesity drug portfolio.
See More
Obesity Drug Market Poised for Growth
- Market Potential: The obesity drug market is projected to reach nearly $100 billion by 2030, prompting significant investor interest and confidence, which could lead to substantial stock price increases for companies in this sector.
- Viking Therapeutics Progress: Viking Therapeutics is conducting phase 3 trials for VK-2735, with promising early results suggesting potential market success; strong data could drive stock prices higher, enhancing the company's competitive position in obesity treatment.
- AbbVie's Strategic Development: AbbVie is studying a long-acting amylin analog, with early trials indicating weight loss of 7% to 9%, which could add significant growth potential to its portfolio and strengthen its market position if successfully commercialized.
- Investor Optimism: As demand for obesity drugs rises, the potential success of Viking and AbbVie may attract more investor attention, driving stock prices up, especially against a backdrop of increasing market expectations for new therapies.
See More
Weight Loss Drug Market Poised for Growth
- Market Potential: Analysts predict the weight loss drug market could reach nearly $100 billion in the coming years, attracting significant investment into pharma and biotech companies, indicating strong growth prospects in this sector.
- Viking Therapeutics Progress: Viking Therapeutics is conducting phase 3 trials for VK-2735, with promising early results suggesting it could carve out a niche in the weight loss market, and strong data could drive the stock price higher again.
- AbbVie's New Strategy: AbbVie is studying a long-acting amylin analog, with early trials showing weight loss of 7% to 9%, which could add significant growth potential to its product portfolio if successful.
- Investment Opportunity Analysis: AbbVie’s price-to-earnings ratio is currently at 15 times, down from over 24 times a few months ago, indicating substantial room for stock price appreciation, with potential for doubling in the near future.
See More
Viking Therapeutics Faces Competitive Pressures
- Intensifying Market Competition: Viking Therapeutics' weight-loss candidate VK2735 showed promising results in clinical trials, but increasing competition from new product launches by Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk may impact Viking's market share significantly.
- Dramatic Stock Price Decline: Viking's stock price has plummeted from nearly $100 to below $30, reflecting investor pessimism regarding its future prospects, particularly in light of stronger competitors entering the market.
- Cash Burn Risks: With approximately $603 million in cash on hand but burning through about $114 million per quarter, Viking may face dilution risks if it fails to raise additional funds soon, further undermining investor confidence.
- Slow Clinical Progress: Although VK2735 remains in clinical trials, competitors are advancing in drug development, potentially placing Viking at a disadvantage in the market and affecting its long-term growth potential.
See More
Viking Therapeutics Stock Plummets, Future Uncertain
- Significant Stock Decline: Viking Therapeutics' stock has plummeted from nearly $100 to below $30, indicating a sharp decline in investor confidence, particularly as competitors like Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly continue to launch new drugs.
- Disappointing Clinical Trial Results: Although VK2735 showed promising results in early trials, subsequent data revealed worse-than-expected side effects, leading to a negative shift in public perception and investor sentiment.
- Increasing Cash Burn: With approximately $603 million in cash on hand but burning through about $114 million per quarter, Viking may face the risk of share dilution if it fails to raise additional funds soon, further undermining shareholder confidence.
- Intensifying Market Competition: As Viking strives to bring its weight-loss drug to market, larger competitors like Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly are developing more potent new treatments, making the future market landscape increasingly challenging for Viking and casting doubt on its prospects.
See More
Eli Lilly's Dominance in Weight Loss Drug Market
- Market Share Leadership: Eli Lilly has captured 60% of the U.S. weight loss drug market, surpassing Novo Nordisk, which highlights its strong competitive position in the rapidly growing healthcare sector, with the market expected to reach $100 billion in value by the next decade.
- Breakthrough in Drug Development: Lilly's new candidate, retatrutide, demonstrated impressive results in a phase 3 trial, with the highest dose helping patients lose an average of 28% of their body weight over 80 weeks, and 45% of participants losing more than 30%, indicating its potential to outperform existing products.
- Multiple Mechanism of Action: Retatrutide acts on three hormonal pathways related to appetite and blood sugar management, while Novo Nordisk's drugs target only one pathway, suggesting that retatrutide may offer greater weight loss potential and could become a new favorite in the market.
- Future Market Outlook: With retatrutide's strong efficacy and safety profile, Lilly is poised to apply for regulatory approval in the coming years, further solidifying its market position and potentially delivering high returns for investors as the value of the weight loss drug market continues to rise.
See More
