Better GLP-1 Stock to Buy: Eli Lilly or Viking Therapeutics?

Eli Lilly leads the GLP-1 market and could remain on top thanks to a deep pipeline.

Viking Therapeutics' leading GLP-1 candidate looks very promising.

One of these stocks looks far more attractive than the other.

Demand for GLP-1 drugs is soaring. Thanks to recent breakthroughs, medicines in this category are expanding their addressable markets and treating conditions such as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, and others, in addition to diabetes and weight management, which are perhaps their most important areas.

Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) is a leader in this space, but several companies are looking to take its crown. One of them is Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ: VKTX) , a smaller biotech with promising GLP-1 candidates. Could Viking Therapeutics successfully challenge Eli Lilly? Let's find out which of these two stocks is a better buy for investors looking to capitalize on this opportunity.

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Eli Lilly's tirzepatide, which mimics the action of both the GLP-1 and GIP hormones, is approved for diabetes, weight loss, and OSA. It is by far the company's most important growth driver right now and the best-selling medicine in this niche. In the second quarter, Eli Lilly's revenue increased by 48% year over year to $23 billion. Sales of Mounjaro -- the brand name for tirzepatide in the diabetes market -- soared 91% year over year to $9.9 billion. Zepbound's (tirzepatide's brand in weight management) revenue was $4.9 billion, up 46% compared to the year-ago period.

Eli Lilly also markets Foundayo, an oral GLP-1 that is helping expand the market by attracting mostly new patients. It isn't generating meaningful revenue yet, at least by Eli Lilly's standards, but once it expands beyond weight loss and into diabetes, OSA, and other indications, it could start making substantial contributions to top-line growth.