VKTX Stock Jumps As Retail Traders Pile Into Obesity Pipeline Bets

• Earlier on Thursday, Viking announced competition for patient enrollment in its late-stage clinical trial of subcutaneous VK2735. 
• Viking is now looking forward to advancing the oral version of its experimental obesity drug into late-stage study in the third-quarter (Q3) of 2026.
• Viking CEO Brian Lian said earlier this month that the company will have four late-stage trials by the end of 2026.

Shares of Viking Therapeutics Inc. (VKTX) closed 3% higher on Thursday amid speculation for a buyout, and an eventual approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its experimental obesity drug dubbed the “Ozempic killer.”

A Stocktwits user recommended holding the stock, opining that it would remain “slow and steady” until FDA approval.

Another speculated a “big buyout" for the company.

Another user highlighted that the company’s obesity asset can dethrone Eli Lilly and Co.’s (LLY) supremacy in the obesity drug segment.

Yet another user called the company’s obesity drug the “Ozempic killer.”

Overall, retail sentiment around the stock improved from ‘bearish’ to ‘neutral’ territory over the past 24 hours, while message volume rose from ‘low’ to 'normal' levels.

Viking Completes Trial Enrollment

Earlier on Thursday, Viking announced competition for patient enrollment in its late-stage clinical trial of subcutaneous VK2735, the company's experimental drug for weight loss. The trial enrolled about 1,000 patients with type 2 diabetes and who have obesity or who are overweight, the company said. The primary endpoint of the study is the percent change in body weight from baseline after 78 weeks of treatment for participants receiving VK2735 as compared to placebo. In a mid-stage trial, patients achieved up to 14.7% mean weight loss in 13 weeks on the drug.

The dual agonist VK2735 is being developed in both oral and subcutaneous formulations. Viking is now looking forward to advancing the oral version of its experimental obesity drug into late-stage study in the third-quarter (Q3) of 2026.

Company Stays Bullish On Pipeline

Viking CEO Brian Lian said earlier this month that the company will have four late-stage trials by the end of 2026.

“2025 was a big year for us. 2026 is gonna be a big year as well,” Lian said at the Leerink Global Healthcare Conference.

The CEO also expressed optimism that weight loss for the subcutaneous VK2735 trials will probably be a “little better than a GLP-1 monoagonist” though he couldn't predict its impact in comparison to other "polyagonists." While Novo Nordisk’s popular weight loss drug Wegovy is a single-agonist drug, Eli Lilly and Company’s Zepbound is a dual agonist.

Viking is also looking to file an application to start trials for a novel amylin agonist this quarter, as it seeks to expand its obesity portfolio. Amylin agonists are a class of medication that mimic the hormone amylin, which is co-secreted with insulin by pancreatic -cells to manage glucose levels and appetite.

VKTX stock has gained more than 30% over the past 12 months.

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