Eli Lilly Soared by 39% in 2025, but Here's Another Healthcare Stock to Buy in 2026

Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) delivered a gain worthy of a technology growth stock last year. The pharma giant's shares soared 39%, which is a pretty impressive 12-month gain for a company in this industry. Why such momentum? Lilly is the maker of one of the world's most sought-after products: weight loss drugs.

The company's tirzepatide, sold as Mounjaro for type 2 diabetes and as Zepbound for weight loss, has driven tremendous gains in revenue in recent quarters. And the outlook for obesity drug growth is strong, with a forecast for a market of almost $100 billion by the end of the decade.

If you missed out on Lilly, though, don't worry: Here's another healthcare stock to buy in 2026 -- and it may benefit from the same booming market.

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Candidates in late-stage development

The company I'm talking about is Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ: VKTX), a biotech that specializes in treatments for metabolic and endocrine disorders. Viking doesn't yet have a product on the market, but its injectable and oral candidates for weight loss have reached late-stage development, in phase 3 and phase 2, respectively.

Viking's VK2735, in both injectable and oral form, works in much the same way as Lilly's tirzepatide. These are dual GIP/GLP-1 receptor agonists, and they act on hormones involved in digestion to regulate blood sugar levels and appetite. Viking has reported solid results from trials so far. For example, in the phase 2 trial of the injectable, decreases in body weight reached as much as 14.7% without any plateau in weight loss. This was after 13 weeks.

A potential rival for Lilly

It's difficult to directly compare current and potential weight loss drugs, as trial parameters and use in the real world don't make it an apples-to-apples comparison. But VK2735's performance so far makes it very possible for this potential drug to compete with Lilly's tirzepatide as well as Novo Nordisk's semaglutide.

Though the pharma giants lead the market right now, demand has been consistently high, suggesting there's room for other players to enter the market and succeed.

Of course, Viking isn't there yet, and companies may hit stumbling blocks during any step of the development journey -- even during late-stage trials or during regulatory review. So this biotech stock carries some risk, particularly because the company doesn't have other commercialized products providing a source of revenue.

But, if the company succeeds, rewards could be great considering the need for weight loss drugs today and the projections for demand down the road, too. It's also important to keep in mind that a larger player may aim to partner or even acquire Viking. All of this means that, for investors who don't mind the risk that goes with drug development, Viking is a top biotech stock to buy in 2026.

Adria Cimino has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Novo Nordisk and Viking Therapeutics. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.