New York, May 28, 2026, 15:03 EDT
Viking Therapeutics Inc. shares picked up 1.7% to $32.19 on Thursday afternoon. Lake Street rolled out new coverage with a bullish call on the obesity-drug company. The stock moved in a range of $31.39 to $32.22. Market cap was around $3.72 billion.
Viking remains a clinical-stage drugmaker, with most of its worth tied to treatments in development rather than products on the market. Investors are looking at its obesity drug VK2735, now heading for Phase 3 trials, to see if it can make it through the final testing needed for approval as obesity treatments keep moving toward oral and injectable options.
Lake Street’s Daniel Brims started coverage with a Buy call and set a price target of $89, Investing.com reported. The call comes as Brims sees a market opportunity for VK2735 and predicts around $3 billion in risk-adjusted global sales by 2040. That figure is discounted to reflect the risk that the drug fails or gets delayed before launch.
Viking had the only recent filing. In a May 26 SEC document, shareholders picked J. Matthew Singleton and S. Kathryn Rouan for Class II board slots, okayed CBIZ CPAs to audit the books, and gave a thumbs up to executive pay in an advisory vote.
Viking’s stock had the market at its back. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF gained 0.5%. The Invesco QQQ Trust, used as a benchmark for large-cap growth and tech, picked up 0.8%. Obesity-drug rivals also moved up; Eli Lilly rose 4.1%, and Novo Nordisk’s U.S. shares were up 2.7%.
Viking is developing VK2735 for both oral and injectable use, aiming at GLP-1 and GIP hormone pathways tied to appetite, blood sugar and metabolism. The company says this dual approach could offer patients more flexibility.
Viking shared Phase 2 trial results for oral VK2735 at the European Congress on Obesity this month, reporting mean weight loss of up to 12.2% after 13 weeks in 280 adults with obesity or overweight plus a related condition. The company said as many as 97% of those treated with VK2735 lost at least 5% of body weight and as many as 80% lost at least 10%. Placebo patients saw 10% and 5% lose that much, respectively.
Chief Executive Brian Lian said Phase 2a data showed “compelling efficacy” and “a clear dose-response.” Lead study investigator Parke Joseph Hedges called the sustained weight loss “particularly compelling.” Viking Therapeutics InvestorRoom
Viking faces a crowded field. In April, Reuters said Eli Lilly became the second company to get U.S. approval for a weight-loss pill, after Novo Nordisk’s oral Wegovy, as the market shifts to oral options. Analysts think weight-loss drugs could pull in around $150 billion a year in the next decade, Reuters has reported.
Viking has more investor meetings lined up. The company will present at the William Blair Growth Stock Conference June 2, and then join a Jefferies healthcare fireside chat June 4. The Jefferies session will be webcast.
Viking is burning cash as expenses rise. The company posted a net loss of $158.3 million, or $1.37 a share, for the first quarter, with research and development costs jumping to $150.2 million from $41.4 million a year ago. Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments totaled $603 million at March 31.
On the other hand, the risks are pretty clear. Viking notes that past clinical or preclinical results might not hold up. Trial costs, timing, and approval are still uncertain. Results could shift if longer studies show new issues with tolerability or patient adherence. Competition is also there, as Lilly and Novo have approved drugs, big scale and strong manufacturing already.
At this point, the stock is moving more on evidence than sales. Viking still has to show VK2735 can hold its weight-loss results in bigger, longer trials. The question is if investors will back a mid-cap biotech to compete for a piece of a market that’s still dominated by two larger players.
