TenQ

The Viking Therapeutics story

Viking Therapeutics is a clinical-stage metabolic drug developer testing whether VK2735 can deliver lasting obesity treatment through injections, tablets and less frequent maintenance dosing.

Viking Therapeutics stock reportTenQ Score 4/36 · every chart and check from its filings
  • $25.17share price, last close
  • $2.9Bmarket value
  • 4/36TenQ Score checks passed

The story in brief

  • Maintenance results extend the case. In September 2026, Viking reported up to 97% of weight loss maintained with every other week dosing and up to 90% with monthly dosing for three months.
  • Oral development moves forward. Viking expects oral VK2735 Phase 3 trials to begin in the fourth quarter of 2026, following up to 12.2% mean weight loss after 13 weeks in Phase 2.
  • Funding remains central. Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments fell to $502 million at June 2026 from $706 million at December 2025, and Viking entered an equity underwriting agreement in September 2026.

What drives the business

  • Viking's lead program is wholly owned VK2735, a dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist being developed in injectable and oral formulations for obesity, with maintenance studies exploring how patients might remain on the same compound after initial weight loss.
  • Manufacturing agreements signed with CordenPharma in March 2025 reserve annual capacity for 100 million autoinjectors, an additional 100 million vial and syringe products, and over one billion oral VK2735 tablets.
  • The injectable Phase 3 VANQUISH studies were fully enrolled by the release for the quarter to June 2026 and evaluate treatment over 78 weeks, following Phase 2 mean weight reductions of up to 14.7% after 13 weekly doses.
  • Oral VK2735 produced up to 12.2% mean weight loss after 13 weeks in Phase 2, compared with 1.3% for placebo, supporting development of a tablet alternative to injections.
  • Beyond VK2735, Viking initiated a Phase 1 trial of the obesity candidate VK3019 in the quarter to June 2026 and is developing VK2809 for metabolic and liver disease.

What the price assumes

At $28.53 per share and a market value of $3.3 billion, the price rests on future profits, but the reverse DCF cannot measure an implied growth rate because free cash flow and operating earnings are both negative.

Viking generated $0 revenue over the last twelve months and reported a net loss of $128.0 million in the quarter to June 2026.

TenQ records 0 of 6 checks passed in both Value and Quality, with profitability and returns failing the checks and several other measures not scored.

What could change the story

  • The injectable Phase 3 studies test treatment over 78 weeks, so the earlier 13 weeks of Phase 2 results do not establish the same efficacy and tolerability over the longer period.
  • Research and development expenses rose to $115.8 million in the quarter to June 2026 from $60.2 million in the corresponding period of 2025, while CordenPharma capacity requires prepayments from 2026 to 2028 that will be credited against future orders.
  • The share count increased 46.6% over 3 years, and the September 2026 underwriting agreement covers issuance of 7,857,143 shares, making dilution an ongoing part of the funding story.
  • Ligand is seeking damages and the return of certain intellectual property under the TR-Beta Program, while Viking has filed a cross-complaint to retain its exclusive development and commercialization rights.
  • VK3019, if approved, may face competing therapies being developed by AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Pfizer.

What to watch next

  • The next releases will show whether oral VK2735 Phase 3 trials begin in the fourth quarter of 2026 as expected in the July 2026 release, rather than the third quarter of 2026 anticipated in the annual report.
  • The maintenance results expected for the third quarter of 2026 were reported in September 2026, and Viking plans to explore oral maintenance regimens in a further part of the study.
  • Updates on VANQUISH safety and progress, research spending, cash balances and financing proceeds will show how clinical development and manufacturing commitments are affecting funding needs.

Sources

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