Viking Therapeutics shorts gain $0.5B amid selloff: report

[Red arrow And dollar finance decline graph- Stock image]
Baris-Ozer

Investors betting against Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/VKTX]) netted a one-day paper profit of $521M as the shares of the San Diego, California-based biotech sold off on Tuesday in reaction to mid-stage trial data for its oral weight loss therapy VK2735, Bloomberg News reported.

The selloff was mainly triggered by safety concerns revealed in the study, as 20% of trial participants on VK2735 discontinued the trial due to adverse events, compared to 13% on the placebo. [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4486906-viking-therapeutics-stock-down-obesity-drug-data]

Viking (NASDAQ:VKTX [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/VKTX]), where more than 25% of the float remains floated, fell ~42% in reaction, marking its biggest one-day decline in history.

However, according to data compiled by Matthew Unterman, managing director at financial data provider S3 Partners LLC, short sellers targeting VKTX had [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-08-19/viking-short-sellers-see-514-million-gain-as-stock-tumbles-40?embedded-checkout=true] a field day.

With over $521M in paper gains in a single day, Viking (NASDAQ:VKTX [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/VKTX]) shorts have turned a loss of about $140M recorded through Monday’s close this year to a gain of more than $380M as of yesterday.

MORE ON VIKING THERAPEUTICS

* Viking Therapeutics: Phase 2 Oral Obesity Data Affirms Bear Case, Downgrade To Sell [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4815000-viking-therapeutics-phase-2-oral-obesity-data-affirms-bear-case-downgrade-to-sell]
* Viking Therapeutics: Wall Street Mistaken To Dump After Obesity Pill Study Success [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4814851-viking-therapeutics-wall-street-mistaken-to-dump-after-obesity-pill-study-success]
* Viking Therapeutics: Still On Track [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4814654-viking-therapeutics-still-on-track]
* How does Viking’s oral obesity drug stand up to those of Eli Lilly and Novo? [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4487144-how-does-viking-stand-up-eli-lilly-and-novo]
* Viking Therapeutics plunges after mid-stage trial data for oral weight loss drug [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4486906-viking-therapeutics-stock-down-obesity-drug-data]