VKTX Stock Recent News

Mizuho's Jared Holz joins 'Fast Money' to talk Viking Therapeutics' massive stock drop on new obesity pill data.

Investors appear disappointed with Viking Therapeutics Inc.'s VKTX data from its Phase 2 trial of an obesity pill.

Justin Zelin, BTIG senior biotech analyst, joins 'The Exchange' to discuss GLP-1's and the share decline for Viking Therapeutics and why he's still bullish the stock.

CNBC's Angelica Peebles joins 'Money Movers' to discuss Viking Therapy shares plummeting on new obesity drug data.

Viking Therapeutics (VKTX) shares cratered nearly 45% Tuesday when the biopharma firm reported study of its experimental weight-loss pill raised concerns about side effects.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) shares tumbled 43% on Tuesday following the release of data from its Phase 2a Venture Oral weight loss trial showing strong efficacy but raised tolerability concerns. The study showed that participants taking VK-2735 achieved placebo-adjusted weight losses of approximately 7.5% at 60 mg, 10% at 90 mg, and 11% at 120 mg over 13 weeks.

Viking Therapeutics, Inc.'s VK2735 oral trial met efficacy and safety endpoints, but high discontinuation rates and modest weight loss disappointed Wall Street, triggering a steep sell-off. Despite being underwhelming compared to Novo and Lilly's oral GLP-1 drugs, VK2735 remains a top-three candidate in a massive, rapidly growing obesity market. Phase 3 injectable VK2735 data will be more decisive, and the market's expectations for weight loss drugs may need to be reset to more realistic levels.

Viking Therapeutics (VKTX -43.06%) stock collapsed on Tuesday, down 41.4% through 10:25 a.m. ET after reporting what pharmaceutical analysts are calling "mixed results" for its new GLP-1 weight loss pill, VK2735.

The once-daily pill VK2735 had lower weight-loss results on average compared to Eli Lilly's orforglipron, which was tested over 72 weeks. The highest dose of Eli Lilly's once-daily treatment helped patients lose about 12.4% of their body weight in a late-stage trial, well below analyst expectations of 15%, according to FactSet.

Shares of Viking Therapeutics fell more than 30% on Tuesday after the company released mid-stage trial data on its obesity pill that disappointed investors.  While the weight loss caused by Viking's pill was roughly comparable to that of other oral drugs, the side effects and discontinuation rates appeared to rattle Wall Street.