Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 240% YTD: Can Q3 Earnings, Weight-Loss Drug Drive Further Gains?

Viking Therapeutics Inc. VKTX is set to report its third-quarter earnings on Wednesday, after the market closes. The anticipation is palpable, especially as the stock has skyrocketed almost 240% year-to-date, largely due to excitement surrounding its weight-loss drug candidate, VK2735.

As a new contender in the burgeoning obesity drug market, Viking is not just riding the coattails of industry giants but actively challenging them.

Weight-Loss Drug Showdown

Viking's VK2735 mimics both GLP-1 and GIP hormones, aiming for superior weight loss compared to established medications like Novo Nordisk A/S's NVO Wegovy and Eli Lilly And Co's LLY Zepbound, which focus solely on GLP-1. While both NVO and LLY have seen their stocks perform robustly—up 12.65% and 53.16% year-to-date, respectively—Viking’s innovative dual approach may position it uniquely to capture a significant share of the market.

Conversely, Pfizer Inc PFE has struggled, with its stock down 3.16% year-to-date, as it grapples to regain relevance in the fast-evolving weight-loss drug space. Viking’s dual strategy, offering both injectable and oral formulations of VK2735, could entice patients to stay within the Viking ecosystem, avoiding the need to switch between brands, thereby enhancing its market appeal.

The Road Ahead: Earnings, Expectations

With no marketed drugs yet, the focus for the upcoming earnings report will be updates on Viking’s pipeline, including VK2735, VK2809 for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, and VK0214 for a rare neurodegenerative disease.

Investors are keenly awaiting insights into Viking's discussions with the FDA regarding advancing its obesity and NASH programs to late-stage development.

Earlier this month, Viking reported promising results from a Phase 1b study for VK0214, which was well-tolerated and met its primary endpoint.

In clinical studies, VK2735 has shown promising results, with patients achieving significant weight reductions.

Viking Therapeutics’ Stock Chart Ahead Of Q3 Earnings

Despite the enthusiasm, technical indicators present a mixed picture.

Chart created using Benzinga Pro

The 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages (SMAs) signal a bullish trend, with the stock trading above these key moving averages. The eight-day and 20-day SMAs, however, signal near-term selling pressure, as these lie above the stock price of $63.80.

So, while the long term may be bullish depending on how Viking Therapeutics’s drug pipeline proceeds, the near term spells caution.

As Viking prepares for its earnings announcement, investors will be keen to see if the excitement translates into solid financial metrics or if the stock’s momentum will falter.

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