Just a year ago, the stock of American biopharma firm Cytokinetics (CYTK) was down over 9%. However, at Tuesday’s closing bell in U.S. trading, the company’s shares had skyrocketed by over 40% to $49.62, extending its recent rally. The stock was pumped by the positive results from the clinical-stage company’s MAPLE-HCM trial.
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The trial showed that the company’s aficamten, a new drug that reduces heart muscle over-contraction, performs better in patients with obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (oHCM).
Cytokinetics Sees Potential in New Drug
oHCM is a genetic heart disease that causes the muscles of the heart to thicken and block blood flow. Cytokinetics’ new drug worked better to enable patients with this condition to perform physical exercises, compared to when they were on metoprolol, the firm said.
Metoprolol is a beta-blocker, a common medicine used to reduce heart strain by slowing down the heart rate and lowering blood pressure. It is used to treat oHCM to ease symptoms such as chest pain and shortness of breath.
Cytokinetics’ trial showed aficamten could offer patients with oHCM new treatment options, pointing to a potential shift in treatment practices. The findings were presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2025.
The results hold potential for the California-based business, which currently has a market capitalization above $4 billion.
Is Cytokinetics a Buy or Sell Stock?
The majority of analysts on Wall Street think investors should rejoice at the news. For instance, H.C. Wainwright analyst Joseph Pantginis, Needham’s Serge Belanger, and RBC Capital’s (RY) Leonid Timashev , all reaffirmed their Buy ratings on the stock. However, Bank of America Securities’ (BAC) Jason Zemansky, and Ashwani Verman from UBS (UBS) both stuck to their Hold recommendations.
Pantginis put forward a price target of $120, as he sees “little room left for doubt” for Cytokinetics ahead of the firm’s December 26 Prescription Drug User Fee Act date. This is the target deadline for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to complete its review of Cytokinetics’ new drug application.
On TipRanks, CYTK stock has a Strong Buy consensus recommendation based on 13 Buys and three Hold ratings by 16 Wall Street analysts. The average CYTK price target is $74.15, which indicates a 49.44% growth potential from the current level.
