Viking Therapeutics Surges on Positive VK2735 Maintenance Study Readout

Viking Therapeutics (VKTX) is up 25.7% today. Here is some analysis on what might have caused this price movement.

Analysis: The most likely catalyst is Viking’s positive topline maintenance-study update for VK2735, its obesity candidate. Investors appear encouraged that the drug not only continued to show strong weight-loss efficacy, but also supported less frequent dosing schedules that could improve long-term adherence and strengthen its competitive profile.

Details:

Viking announced on September 22, 2026 that VK2735 achieved 22% placebo-adjusted weight loss at week 33 in an exploratory weekly-dosing cohort, with no plateau observed.

In the 12-week maintenance phase, patients switching from weekly dosing to every-other-week dosing preserved up to 97% of prior weight loss, while monthly dosing preserved up to 90%.

The company said gastrointestinal side-effect rates during maintenance dosing were similar to placebo, which may have reassured investors on tolerability as treatment duration extends.

A July corporate update had already outlined that VK2735’s Phase 3 VANQUISH-1 and VANQUISH-2 trials were fully enrolled and that an oral Phase 3 program is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2026, adding to the broader bullish setup around the franchise.

Sources:

Viking Therapeutics, SEC

Disclaimer: This price movement analysis was generated with the help of AI. Please double-check the information provided for mistakes.

$VKTX Insider Trading Activity

$VKTX insiders have traded $VKTX stock on the open market 3 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 0 have been purchases and 3 have been sales.

Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $VKTX stock by insiders over the last 6 months:

BRIAN LIAN (President & CEO) sold 148,517 shares for an estimated $4,947,888
GREG ZANTE (Chief Financial Officer) sold 21,217 shares for an estimated $710,141
MARIANNA MANCINI (Chief Operating Officer) sold 18,217 shares for an estimated $609,635

To track insider transactions, check out Quiver Quantitative's insider trading dashboard. You can access data on insider stock transactions through the Quiver Quantitative API insider transaction endpoint.

$VKTX Hedge Fund Activity

We have seen 206 institutional investors add shares of $VKTX stock to their portfolio, and 230 decrease their positions in their most recent quarter.

Here are some of the largest recent moves:

RAYMOND JAMES FINANCIAL INC removed 1,280,743 shares (-61.7%) from their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $49,961,784
JPMORGAN CHASE & CO added 915,185 shares (+inf%) to their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $35,701,366
SIXTH STREET PARTNERS MANAGEMENT COMPANY, L.P. added 730,690 shares (+inf%) to their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $28,504,216
BLACKROCK, INC. removed 690,641 shares (-10.0%) from their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $26,941,905
JUMP FINANCIAL, LLC added 579,882 shares (+inf%) to their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $22,621,196
TWO SIGMA INVESTMENTS, LP removed 494,728 shares (-11.2%) from their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $19,299,339
AMERIPRISE FINANCIAL INC added 477,338 shares (+28.4%) to their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $18,620,955

To track hedge funds' stock portfolios, check out Quiver Quantitative's institutional holdings dashboard. You can access data on hedge funds moves and 13F filings through the Quiver Quantitative API 13F endpoint.

$VKTX Price Targets

Multiple analysts have issued price targets for $VKTX recently. We have seen 3 analysts offer price targets for $VKTX in the last 6 months, with a median target of $100.0.

Here are some recent targets:

Daniel Brims from Lake Street set a target price of $89.0 on 05/28/2026
Jeet Mukherjee from BTIG set a target price of $125.0 on 05/01/2026
Steve Seedhouse from Cantor Fitzgerald set a target price of $100.0 on 04/30/2026

This article is not financial advice. See Quiver Quantitative's disclaimers for more information. Note that there may be inaccuracies due to mistakes in ticker-mapping, and other anomalies.