Viking Therapeutics (VKTX) stock dove on Tuesday following the release of data from a Phase 2 clinical trial of VK2735. This is the pharmaceutical company’s dual agonist of the glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) receptors. It is being developed in oral and subcutaneous formulations to treat various metabolic disorders, such as obesity.
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Viking Therapeutics noted that the study met its primary and secondary endpoints, with patients experiencing significant weight loss compared to placebo. This came in at a mean of up to 10.9%. Up to 80% of patients in the trial experienced weight loss of greater than 10%, compared with 5% for placebo. 20% of patients discontinued the study due to an adverse event, compared to 13% for placebo.
Brian Lian, Ph.D., CEO of Viking Therapeutics, said, “The progressive nature of the weight loss curves suggests the potential for further improvement with longer dosing periods. The experimental maintenance arm of this study provides an encouraging signal that supports our belief that transitioning patients from higher doses, injectable or oral, to low oral doses represents a promising approach to weight maintenance therapy.”
Viking Therapeutics Stock Movement Today
While the VK2735 clinical trial met its primary endpoint, it doesn’t appear to have impressed investors. Shares of VKTX stock were down 37.18% in pre-market trading on Tuesday, following a 5.15% loss yesterday. The shares have also increased 4.6% year-to-date, but fell 36.36% in the past 12 months.
Today’s drop came with strong trading of Viking Therapeutics stock. More than 3.3 million shares were traded this morning, closing in on a three-month daily average of about 4.29 million shares.
Is Viking Therapeutics Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, the analysts’ consensus rating for Viking Therapeutics is Strong Buy, based on 14 Buy and two Hold ratings over the past three months. With that comes an average VKTX stock price target of $88.71, representing a potential 110.76% upside for the shares.
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