Viking Therapeutics’ stock doubles after company reports positive results in trial of weight-loss drug

Patients receiving weekly doses of the drug lost up to 14.7% of their body weight from baseline after 13 weeks. The treatment was safe and well-tolerated with 95% of adverse events that were mostly gastrointestinal deemed mild or moderate.

“Up to 88% of patients in VK2735 treatment groups achieved >=10% weight loss, compared with 4% for placebo,” Viking
VKTX,
+2.83%
said in a statement.

Viking is planning to meet with the Food and Drug Administration to discuss next steps and will host a conference call at 8 a.m. Eastern Time with further details.

The news will cheer investors looking for a cheaper entry to the weight-loss drug trend than offered by the two leaders in the field, Eli Lilly & Co. Inc.
LLY,
+0.31%
and Denmark’s Novo Nordisk.
NVO,
+0.03%

NOVO.B,
-2.87%

Viking’s stock closed Monday at $38.48, while Eli Lilly closed at $771.92 and Novo Nordisk’s ADRs closed at $123.49.

Viking’s stock cannot yet be evaluated by traditional forward price-to-earnings or price-to-sales ratios. Consensus estimates among analysts polled by FactSet were negative through 2026, before the market open on Tuesday. Consensus sales estimates for Viking through 2026 were zero for 2024, $1 million for 2025 and $58 million for 2026.

Ten analysts working for brokerage firms polled by FactSet cove Viking. The estimates may be changed significantly over coming days to reflect Tuesday’s news.

Based on Monday’s closing prices, the forward price-to-earnings ratio for Eli Lilly & Co. was 57.7. The forward P/E for Novo Nordisk’s Class B American depositary receipts was 35.7.

By comparison, weighted forward P/E ratios were 20.6 for the S&P 500, 19.6 for the S&P 500 healthcare sector, 17.4 for the S&P 500 biotech sector industry group and 19.5 for the S&P 500 pharmaceutical industry group, according to FactSet.

Viking’s injectable and oral treatments use the same mechanism as Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Ozempic and Lilly’s Mounjaro, mimicking the effects of GLP-1, a gut hormone that can help control blood-sugar levels and reduce appetite. GLP stands for glucagon-like peptide.

The Phase 2 trial involved 176 adults who are obese, or overweight, with at least one weight-related comorbid condition.

Read also: Eli Lilly’s quarterly results top estimates as obesity, diabetes drugs gain insurance coverage

Viking is also developing a treatment for NASH, or nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. NASH is a more severe version of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, or NAFLD, a range of conditions that occurs when excess fat builds up in liver cells.

NASH is the main reason that patients require liver transplants and there are high hopes for the therapies currently in development.

 For more, see: Inside the NASH drug boom: New drugs for a ‘silent’ liver disease that affects millions near FDA approval

The stock has gained 250% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500
SPX,
-0.38%
has gained 27%.

Additional reporting by Philip Van Doorn.