2 Bargain Stocks You Can Buy for Less Than $100 Right Now

Viking Therapeutics (market cap ~$3.8B, shares ~ $34) has no commercial revenue but its VK2735 subcutaneous GLP-1 candidate produced an average 14.7% body-weight reduction at the highest dose in a 13-week trial; earlier weak data for an oral formulation triggered a 40% selloff but the stock has since recovered on hopes for approval and potential acquisition interest. PayPal (market cap ~$54B, trading < $60) is down ~36% over 12 months but retains >430 million active users and ~45% market share; it trades near 11x earnings and is pursuing growth via an OpenAI partnership to enable merchant sales through ChatGPT and expanded Venmo retail use with debit-card cash-back incentives.

Analysis

Market structure: A successful VK2735 phase‑3 program or positive interim readout in the next 6–12 months would reprice VKTX (mkt cap ~$3.8bn) from a binary development play toward commercial valuation, benefiting small-cap biotech acquirers and CROs while pressuring incumbent GLP‑1 margins as more entrants expand supply. For PYPL (mkt cap ~$54bn, ~45% payment share), incremental product integrations with OpenAI and deeper Venmo merchant adoption would defend revenue per user versus fintech rivals (Block/SQ) but leave network-fee exposed players vulnerable if consumer spend stays tepid for 2–6 quarters.

Risk assessment: Tail risks include an FDA CRL or safety signal for VK2735 (low probability, >-80% downside on clinical failure) and faster-than-expected competitive pricing or regulation on interchange for PYPL (medium probability, -20–40% multi‑quarter hit). Short window effects: days-to-weeks volatility around trial updates/earnings; medium-term (3–12 months) depends on enrollment/readout cadence and merchant onboarding metrics; long-term (1–3 years) driven by GLP‑1 market share and payments monetization.

Trade implications: Tactical capital allocation should be asymmetric: small, size‑capped VKTX exposure for binary upside (1–2% portfolio) with defined-cost option structures; larger but still disciplined PYPL core position (2–4%) to capture cyclical rebound and multiple expansion if growth stabilizes. Cross-asset: anticipate higher implied vols for VKTX, bid for long-dated calls; modest spread widening in IG credit if tech earnings disappoint; USD flow neutral but EM consumer names sensitive to global growth repricing.

Contrarian angles: The oral VK2735 discontinuation was priced as catastrophic—market may underprice the probability of an asset sale or co-development premium post positive SC data; a buyout could deliver 30–100% uplift. Conversely, consensus may underappreciate PYPL’s downside if Venmo merchant activation stalls—look for revenue/TPV inflection points (3–6 months) before adding size. Historical parallels: small-biotech GLP‑1 winners have been acquired at 1.5–4x post-readout revenue multiples; use that as acquisition-value ceiling for scenario modeling.

Key Decisions for Investors

• Establish a 1.5% long position in VKTX via a 12–18 month calendar: buy ATM 12-month calls sized to 1% notional and fund with 6–9 month OTM call sales sized to 0.5% to reduce cost; target 2x return on positive Phase‑3 interim/readout within 6–12 months, kill position if negative primary endpoint or safety signal (cut at -80%).
• Initiate a 3% core long position in PYPL at current prices (<$60); set a tactical stop-loss at -15% and a profit-taking band at +25–40% within 9–12 months if TPV growth accelerates >3% QoQ. Consider selling 6–9 month 1–2% OTM covered calls to generate yield if position held >3 months and no structural deterioration in guidance.
• Pair trade: Long PYPL (3%) / Short Block (SQ) (1.5%) to express conviction in PayPal's durable payments moat versus POS/merchant-driven competition; rebalance if PYPL beats guidance and SQ shows accelerating discount to payments revenue growth by more than 5ppt over a quarter.
• Risk-manage biotech exposure by capping total small-cap GLP‑1/biotech at 5% portfolio; monitor two specific catalysts in next 90 days—VKTX trial enrollment milestones and any FDA correspondence—and redeploy proceeds to cash or PYPL if VKTX misses enrollment targets by >10%.
• If implied volatility for VKTX exceeds 80% before a readout, prefer 12–18 month 30–50% OTM call spreads to limit theta; if PYPL IV compresses below 25% post-earnings, buy 9–12 month 25% OTM calls for asymmetric upside on a reacceleration narrative.