Zealand Pharma stock suffered its two worst days on record. Here's what's next for the weight loss drugmaker

Shares of Danish biotech Zealand Pharma recently plunged after detailed data on its weight loss drug survodutide showed far higher patient dropout rates than leading treatments, prompting analysts to slash peak sales forecasts and rethink the company's obesity strategy. But while the market's enthusiasm for the drug has meaningfully cooled, investors are shifting focus to Zealand's amylin-based medicine, petrelintide, as the next potential driver of the stock, setting it up for an important year ahead. The Copenhagen-listed stock tumbled 23% earlier this month after survodutide, which Zealand has licensed to Boeringer Ingelheim, showed side effects grave enough for 19% of patients to end the treatment. It did, however, show a 16.6% weight loss on average, meeting its primary target. It came after shares dropped 36% in March following lower-than-expected efficacy of just under 11% for its lead asset, petrelintide, in a mid-stage trial, which CEO Adam Steensberg said hadn't been optimized for weight loss. These mark the stock's two worst days on record since the company went public in 2010. Even so, many are sticking with the stock. UBS analysts this week slashed their price target on the stock to 540 Danish kroner from 730 kroner as they cut survodutide peak sales by nearly 80%. "The tolerability data looks highly disappointing and will likely significantly limit its usage," they wrote in a research note. …