Is Viking Therapeutics the Ultimate Millionaire-Maker Obesity Stock for 2026?

Pharmaceutical and biotech companies may offer your portfolio a sense of stability, and this is for one good reason: Patients need their medical treatments, so they will continue going for them regardless of the economic backdrop. And this helps these companies maintain a certain level of revenue in any environment.

But, in recent times, one particular treatment area has seen explosive demand -- and this has created a massive revenue opportunity for companies serving it or developing potential products. So certain biotech and pharma players, focused on this area, are no longer slower-growth investments -- and they may even appeal to growth investors.

The treatment area I'm talking about is obesity. Today Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk lead the weight loss drug market, but many others are working to enter this market -- one that may approach $100 billion by the end of the decade. One of these hopefuls is Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ: VKTX). Could it be the ultimate millionaire-maker obesity stock for 2026? Let's find out.

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Viking's late-stage trials

Viking is a biotech company specializing in metabolic diseases. The company hasn't yet commercialized a drug, but its leading weight loss candidates -- in injectable and oral formulations -- are both progressing through late-stage clinical trials. A phase 3 trial for injectable VK2735 is ongoing, and the oral candidate is set to enter phase 3 in the third quarter of this year.

The injectable trial for obesity completed enrollment ahead of schedule, suggesting people are eager to try this potential new drug.

Viking's candidate is part of the GLP-1 class of drugs, which interact with hormonal pathways controlling appetite and blood sugar levels. Current commercialized drugs -- such as Lilly's Zepbound and Novo's Wegovy -- have met with explosive demand. At a certain point, there was even a shortage.

Individuals aiming to shed pounds like these drugs because they're effective, generally are easy to tolerate, and are easy to take -- injectables are self-administered weekly. Novo and Lilly each recently launched oral drugs, and these are taken daily.

The demand seen so far suggests there is plenty of room for new players to enter the market -- so if all continues to go smoothly for Viking in these late stages of development, the company could capture some market share and generate significant growth. As an example, Lilly's Zepbound brought in more than $4 billion in the recent quarter. Even a fraction of that would be tremendous for a young biotech player.

Viking has skyrocketed on positive news

So, could Viking be the ultimate millionaire-maker stock for your portfolio this year? Viking stock has been known to surge on positive news. When it first reported encouraging phase 2 news for VK2735 back in February of 2024, the stock surged 121% in one trading session. A gain of such proportions won't necessarily happen after each bit of news, but I wouldn't be surprised to see double-digit increases after signs of fresh progress. And since that colossal one-day gain back in 2024, Viking has slipped -- meaning that from current levels, it could have a lot of room to run, particularly if the company moves closer to product commercialization.

Viking also has shown signs of strength in today's difficult market environment -- the stock is posting a slight increase for the year so far.

In spite of this, Viking on its own is unlikely to make you a millionaire. For example, if you invested $10,000 in Viking at the end of 2023 and held it as it soared in early 2024, the value of your investment would have been $50,000. That's fantastic, but it's far from the million-dollar mark.

It's actually rare when a single stock turns an investor into a millionaire -- instead, it's more common for a basket of well-chosen stocks to do the job. In this context, Viking is a great choice. If the company's obesity program continues to deliver encouraging news, Viking could be the ultimate addition to your millionaire-maker portfolio.

Adria Cimino has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Novo Nordisk and Viking Therapeutics. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.