Shares of Viking Therapeutics have fallen 46% over the past two years, even as Wall Street’s average price target stays at $92.58. That target implies nearly 161% upside from current levels, and the gap now rests on whether subcutaneous VK2735 can keep delivering in two ongoing 78-week phase 3 studies.
One of the company’s earlier milestones gave long-term holders a reason to sell into strength: Viking Therapeutics reported excellent mid-stage results for subcutaneous VK2735, and some shareholders decided to pocket profits after that readout. The company’s market cap is $4.1 billion, while the average target would put its value at almost $11 billion within 12 months if the share count does not change.
VK2735 and Wall Street
Wall Street’s stance on Viking Therapeutics remains tied to VK2735, the company’s lead candidate and an investigational weight-management medicine. In one mid-stage study, the subcutaneous version posted placebo-adjusted mean weight loss of up to 13.1% in just 13 weeks, a result that keeps late-stage expectations elevated.
That expectation is not modest. The market will want VK2735 to show mean weight loss at least in the high teens in patients without diabetes, a bar that reflects how the drug stacks up against the current benchmark in the category.
Brian O'neill’s Four-Year Extension Gives the Vikings Rare Continuity Through 2030 does not affect this stock, but it sits alongside another story that uses the Vikings name. Here, the relevant comparison is financial: investors are watching a development-stage program whose readout could reprice the company quickly if the data land well.
Oral VK2735 results
The bull case still has friction. Viking Therapeutics’ phase 2 results for an oral formulation of VK2735 were somewhat disappointing because of high discontinuation rates linked to side effects, which left the oral program less convincing than the subcutaneous version.
That split helps explain why Wall Street is leaning on the injectable program instead of the pill. A second late-stage result from the oral candidate could still move the stock, but the current valuation case depends most on the subcutaneous data now running in 78-week phase 3 studies.
The comparison with Zepbound also sets the bar in plain numbers. Zepbound posted average weight loss of about 20.2% over 72 weeks in one phase 3 study, while some analysts think subcutaneous VK2735 could perhaps reach 25% in its 78-week trials.
NASDAQ VKTX valuation
Jamal Adams is a high-risk depth move with a familiar name is another separate story, but the stock case here is straightforward: if the ongoing trials show strong durability and weight loss, the share price has room to move toward the $92.58 target. If they fall short of the high-teens benchmark, the current bullish case gets harder to defend.
For shareholders, the next meaningful shift is the readout from the ongoing 78-week phase 3 studies for subcutaneous VK2735. Until then, the market is trading on the same split that already defines the name: a 46% decline over two years, and a still-lofty view from Wall Street that says the company may be worth much more if the late-stage data hold up.
