An analyst recommended two mid-cap GLP-1 developers to risk-tolerant investors

Investors should take a closer look at the stocks of two small developers of GLP-1-based obesity drugs—Viking Therapeutics and Kailera Therapeutics— according to Prosper Junior Bakini, a freelance analyst at The Motley Fool. He warned that investing in these biotech companies carries significant risk. Their stock prices could soar if clinical trials of their drugs yield positive results, but if the trials fail, the companies could “lose significant market value,” he explains.

The next 18 months will be crucial for Viking, as the company is set to release data from several clinical trials, according to an analyst at Motley Fool.

Its lead drug candidate is called VK2735. It targets the same receptors as Eli Lilly’s Zepbound and is available in two forms—injections and tablets. In 2027, Viking is expected to complete the third and final phase of clinical trials for the injectable version of the drug. Interim results have shown that it appears to be competitive compared to Zepbound, as well as Wegovy from Denmark’s Novo Nordisk.

Research on the tablet form of VK2735 is still in the early stages—the start of Phase III is scheduled for this year. If both versions show excellent results, Viking will be able to carve out a niche in the obesity drug market and outperform the market until 2031, according to Bakini.

In total, Viking’s stock has 18 buy recommendations from Wall Street analysts and two neutral “hold” ratings. The average price target is $93.1, which is 180% higher than the stock’s closing price on August 14.

Kailera, which went public as recently as April 2026, received a license for a portfolio of experimental drugs to treat obesity from its Chinese partner, Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals.

Kailera’s lead drug—ribupatide injections—works on the same principle as Zepbound and is currently undergoing Phase 3 trials. The same drug, but at a higher dosage, is in Phase II trials. In addition, Kailera is developing an oral form of ribupatide, notes a Motley Fool analyst.

The company also has other promising molecules for treating obesity, such as KAI-4729, which mimics the action of three different hormones, Bakini continues. Eli Lilly’s experimental drug retatrutide works in a similar way, and the analyst described the results of its Phase III trials as exceptional.

"This does not guarantee that a mid-cap biotech company's development efforts will yield the same results as those of pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly," the analyst notes. But for a company with a market capitalization of just $2.3 billion, Kailera has a “quite attractive, differentiated portfolio of obesity drug candidates,” he notes.

All six Wall Street analysts who cover Kailera recommend buying its stock. The average price target is $42.8, which implies upside potential of 138% from the most recent closing price.