Positive Outlook on Summit Therapeutics’ Ivonescimab Despite Statistical Challenges

Analyst Mitchell Kapoor of H.C. Wainwright reiterated a Buy rating on Summit Therapeutics (SMMT – Research Report), retaining the price target of $44.00.

Mitchell Kapoor has given his Buy rating due to a combination of factors that highlight the potential of Summit Therapeutics’ ivonescimab. Despite the lack of statistical significance in the overall survival data from the HARMONi study, Kapoor views the updated data as incrementally positive, emphasizing ivonescimab’s potential to alter the standard-of-care in solid tumors. The drug’s performance, particularly in comparison to Merck’s KEYTRUDA, is seen as promising, with ivonescimab demonstrating a better progression-free survival hazard ratio in certain settings.
Kapoor also points to the HARMONi-2 study, where ivonescimab showed significant success against KEYTRUDA in first-line non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), particularly in progression-free survival across multiple subtypes. The consistency between the China and Western data further strengthens the confidence in ivonescimab’s potential market impact. Kapoor maintains that the lack of statistically significant overall survival benefit should not overshadow the drug’s potential, especially given the absence of FDA-approved therapies achieving this benchmark. Thus, he reiterates a Buy rating with a 12-month price target of $44 per share.

In another report released on May 30, Wells Fargo also assigned a Buy rating to the stock with a $30.00 price target.