Stifel Nicolaus analyst Annabel Samimy has reiterated their bullish stance on VKTX stock, giving a Buy rating today.
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Annabel Samimy’s rating is based on the promising results from the Phase 2 VENTURE-Oral trial of Viking Therapeutics’ VK2735, which demonstrated significant dose-dependent weight loss in participants. The trial showed that VK2735 is among the most potent oral anti-obesity medications, achieving up to 12.2% absolute weight loss and 10.9% placebo-adjusted weight loss without a plateau by the end of the 13-week study. This positions VK2735 as a strong contender in the market, with potential for even greater efficacy over a longer duration.
Moreover, the exploratory trial arm indicated that VK2735 could serve as an effective lower-dose maintenance therapy, offering a commercially viable opportunity for market expansion. The maintenance arm showed continued weight loss even after reducing the dose, suggesting that VK2735 could maintain efficacy at lower doses, which could be more affordable and provide better margins. The adverse events were mostly mild to moderate and could be managed with a slower titration schedule, further supporting the potential for VK2735’s successful commercialization.
According to TipRanks, Samimy is a 4-star analyst with an average return of 6.2% and a 47.74% success rate. Samimy covers the Healthcare sector, focusing on stocks such as MBX Biosciences, Inc., RegenXBio, and Trevi Therapeutics.