For the second day in a row, a pundit's take on Viking Therapeutics(NASDAQ: VKTX) helped push the biotech's share price higher. It was this rather than inherent news from the company that added more than 3% to said price, a gain that handily beat the S&P 500 index's 0.8% increase.
Thumbs-up from bullish pundit
The latest analyst to weigh in on Viking's prospects was Morgan Stanley's Michael Ulz, who early Thursday morning published a new research note on the now-prominent biotech. Ulz is unquestionably a Viking bull, as his recommendation on the stock is overweight (read: buy) at a relatively high $105 per-share price target -- 67% above the stock's latest closing price.
These days, investors are eager for news of the company's VK2735 investigational obesity drug. If successful, this treatment should compete quite effectively with similar medications commercialized by Denmark-based Novo Nordisk(NYSE: NVO) and American company Eli Lilly(NYSE: LLY), not least because it is administered orally. That makes it much easier to take than Novo Nordisk's Wegovy and Eli Lilly's Zepbound, since both work by injection.
Like other analysts, Ulz pointed to VK2735's solid performance in relatively early clinical testing as a major reason to be optimistic about the future of its developer.
Roche in recovery
Viking's investigational drug is looking especially promising these days following news of a rival's stumbles. Earlier this week, Roche Holdings reported that its pipeline weight-loss treatment produced notable side effects in the lab. VK2735 has, by contrast, been found to be well-tolerated by patients so far.
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Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Novo Nordisk and Roche Ag. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
