Viking Therapeutics weakness ‘overdone,’ says Leerink

After Viking Therapeutics (VKTX) announced topline data from the Phase 2 VENTURE-Oral trial of oral VK2735 that showed “impressive” weight loss of up to 12.2% from baseline at week 13, Leerink believes weakness in the shares is being driven in part by “elevated expectations,” some concerns around ‘2735’s safety and tolerability compared to “the pristine Phase 1b experience” and some negative perception of the catalyst path and strategic optionality. However, the firm believes this weakness is “overdone” based on the totality of ‘2735’s data, the optionality to leverage both formulations and the opportunity to mitigate GI-related adverse events. The firm has an Outperform rating and $118 price target on Viking shares.