Viking Therapeutics shares slip after wider Q3 loss and long obesity drug timeline

what happened

Shares of Viking Therapeutics (VKTX) slipped almost 3% in after-hours trading late Wednesday, according to Stocktwits, after the biotech reported a third-quarter loss of $1.55 per share against analysts' expectation of $1.06. The company's net loss reached $183.2 million, against $90.8 million a year earlier, as research spending rose to $166.8 million on higher trial and manufacturing costs.

On the earnings call, CEO Brian Lian said the potential launch of VK2735, the company's experimental obesity treatment that targets GLP-1 and GIP receptors, is about two and a half years away. His remark that the commercial team is already solid at this stage drew criticism from some retail investors on Stocktwits.

CFO Greg Zante put average cash use at roughly $100 million per quarter, adding that some periods will be higher and others lower. Viking ended September with $960 million in cash and short-term investments, up from $706 million at year-end, helped by about $575 million raised through stock and convertible notes before expenses.

why it matters

Viking is still running four Phase 3 trials, so for the shares the timing of readouts and the pace of cash use may matter more than one quarter's loss. Retail sentiment on Stocktwits moved to neutral from bearish, although the stock is down 28% year to date.

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