BioAge Labs: Early-Stage Promise for BGE-102 Balanced by Long Timelines and Clinical Risk, Justifying Hold Rating

Analyst Michael Ulz from Morgan Stanley maintained a Hold rating on BioAge Labs, Inc. and keeping the price target at $12.00.

Michael Ulz has given his Hold rating due to a combination of factors related to both BioAge Labs’ promising pipeline and its current stage of development. He notes that BGE-102 has generated encouraging early clinical data, including meaningful reductions in inflammatory markers linked to cardiovascular risk, and that preclinical work in diabetic macular edema (DME) suggests strong protection of retinal vasculature. The planned Phase 1b/2a DME trial, which will test BGE-102 alone and alongside a VEGF inhibitor and focus on intraocular IL-6 changes with additional visual and anatomical endpoints, could meaningfully expand the drug’s opportunity in retinal disease. However, the key value inflection points, including DME proof-of-concept and cardiovascular risk data in obese patients, remain several years away, with initial readouts not expected until mid-2027.

At the same time, Ulz acknowledges that the DME program is designed around a validated ocular target and leverages prior evidence that modulating IL-6 can improve and augment visual outcomes, which reinforces the mechanistic rationale for NLRP3 inhibition in the eye. He also points out that additional studies, such as the Phase 1 multiple-ascending-dose data in obese subjects with elevated hsCRP and the planned Phase 2a trial in obese patients at heightened cardiovascular risk, create a series of catalysts beginning in 2026. Nevertheless, given the company’s early clinical stage, the inherent uncertainty around translating biomarker and preclinical results into definitive efficacy, and the time required for these studies to mature, he sees risk and reward as balanced at the current share price. As a result, he believes a Hold rating is appropriate while awaiting more comprehensive clinical data to clarify the long-term profile and commercial potential of BGE-102 and BioAge’s broader program.

According to TipRanks, Ulz is a 3-star analyst with an average return of 2.7% and a 46.37% success rate. Ulz covers the Healthcare sector, focusing on stocks such as Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Alnylam Pharma, and Kyverna Therapeutics, Inc..

In another report released today, TipRanks – DeepSeek also reiterated a Hold rating on the stock with a $21.50 price target.