Gewinn- und Verlust: Viking Therapeutics, Inc.

Viking Therapeutics offers a speculative opportunity, driven by its promising obesity drug pipeline and the massive potential of the GLP-1 market. Early clinical data for VK2735 is competitive, even outperforming some current leaders, though longer trials are needed for direct comparison. Risks remain high—failure in late-stage trials could mean near-total loss, but the pipeline's progress and additional MASH drug offer some risk mitigation.

Good news from a peer and a positive analyst update were the elements driving Viking Therapeutics (VKTX 5.07%) stock higher on the first trading day of the week.

Some smaller drugmakers choose to develop medicines for diseases for which there are no therapeutic options. This allows them to avoid direct competition from larger pharmaceutical companies.

Investing successfully in biopharmaceutical companies can sometimes require complicated calculations worthy of Albert Einstein's brain. That's because picking the right ones involves a variation of the theory of relativity.

Investors often turn to recommendations made by Wall Street analysts before making a Buy, Sell, or Hold decision about a stock. While media reports about rating changes by these brokerage-firm employed (or sell-side) analysts often affect a stock's price, do they really matter?

While most investors pile into Eli Lilly (LLY 2.95%) or flee from struggling Novo Nordisk (NVO 2.48%), they're missing a compelling opportunity in the clinical-stage space. Novo recently lost nearly $70 billion in market cap after cutting 2025 guidance and warning of slowing Wegovy momentum, while the broader biotech industry's recent reawakening has created pockets of value among companies with differentiated approaches to weight management.

Recent history has, once again, demonstrated that relatively small biotech companies can see their shares soar significantly on positive developments. Summit Therapeutics' stock is up by more than 2,000% over the past three years, and Abivax, a France-based drugmaker, is up by more than 800% this year following strong clinical data.

The healthcare industry has been a remarkable place for investors to build significant portfolio returns through the years. Companies that are providing life-saving medicines, devices, and other products are often at the forefront of innovation in the healthcare space, a durable industry that tends to be broadly resilient even in times of economic unrest.

Explore the exciting world of Viking Therapeutics (VKTX 0.28%) with our contributing expert analysts in this Motley Fool Scoreboard episode. Check out the video below to gain valuable insights into market trends and potential investment opportunities!

Viking Therapeutics' stock has outperformed the S&P 500 since its April lows, marking a solid turnaround. The company's dual-track approach (injectables and oral) for VK2735 positions it well against leaders Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, as recent results show solid progress. Strong liquidity position provides a reasonable cash runway through 2027, supporting R&D initiatives and upcoming key clinical data releases.