Here's Why Viking Therapeutics Bounced Back Today

Key Points

• The safety and tolerability data were at odds with an earlier phase 1 trial, and not as good as a comparable drug trial result from Eli Lilly.

• Viking may decide to take VK2735 (oral form) through phase 3, or a peer could step in and buy or partner with it.

• 10 stocks we like better than Viking Therapeutics ›

Shares of Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ: VKTX) rose by almost 10% at 11 a.m. ET today. This follows a significant fall the previous day on the release of its eagerly awaited top-line results from a phase 2 trial of its weight loss drug VK2735 in oral form. The oral formulation offers convenience over subcutaneous (injected) formulations.

Viking Therapeutics VK2735 phase 2 results

The phase 2 results were successful in weight loss reduction, but less so in safety and tolerability. In comparison, a phase 3 trial for pharma giant Eli Lilly's (NYSE: LLY) orforglipron in weight loss resulted in a mean percentage weight loss of 7.8% at the lowest dosage to 12.4% at the highest dosage. Meanwhile, the VK2735 phase 2 ranged from a mean reduction of 2.3% to 12.2% at the highest dosage.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »

The key difference is that the discontinuation rate due to adverse effects in Eli Lilly's phase 3 trial was 10.3% at the highest dosage, compared to 20% overall in the Viking phase 2 trial.

What it means to investors

A few analysts are saying the sell-off is overdone, and with good reason. Recall that Viking's trial, although disappointing, is only a phase 2 with 280 enrolled patients, compared to Eli Lilly's phase 3 with 4,500.

Image source: Getty Images.

It's also at odds with the earlier phase 1 trial, which indicated good safety and tolerability.

As such, a larger company may step in to try to improve tolerability and take VK2735 (oral form) through phase 3 by buying Viking or partnering with it. However, it could be a while before there's any upside catalyst to the stock price coming from trial data, as the phase 3 trial for oral VK2735 only started in June. It's a disappointing update, but there's still upside potential for the stock from here.

Should you invest $1,000 in Viking Therapeutics right now?

Before you buy stock in Viking Therapeutics, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Viking Therapeutics wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $654,781!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,076,588!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,055% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 183% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of August 18, 2025

Lee Samaha has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Viking Therapeutics. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.