Validating Marker Therapeutics’ MAR-T Platform in Pancreatic Cancer: MT-601 Upside Supports Buy Rating and $10 Target

Marker Therapeutics, the Healthcare sector company, was revisited by a Wall Street analyst today. Analyst Patrick Trucchio from H.C. Wainwright reiterated a Buy rating on the stock and has a $10.00 price target.

Patrick Trucchio has given his Buy rating due to a combination of factors related to Marker Therapeutics’ MAR-T cell platform and its emerging clinical profile in pancreatic cancer. He highlights newly published Phase 1/2 data from Baylor College of Medicine showing that MAR-T cells, when used with first-line chemotherapy, produced meaningful response rates, durable disease control, and median overall survival that together point to a clinically relevant benefit in a cancer type with few effective options. The study also showed that the infused MAR-T cells persisted in patients for up to a year and that better expansion and persistence were associated with stronger clinical responses, all while maintaining a manageable safety profile and not worsening chemotherapy-related toxicities. In his view, these results support continued development of MAR-T therapy in pancreatic cancer and validate Marker’s strategy to pursue this indication.

Trucchio further underscores the potential of Marker’s proprietary product, MT-601, which is designed to target six tumor-associated antigens, potentially improving tumor cell killing and addressing key resistance mechanisms such as immune evasion and antigen loss. He notes that MT-601 has cleared FDA IND review for a Phase 1 study in combination with frontline chemotherapy in advanced pancreatic cancer, with a trial design that includes lymphodepletion and dose escalation to refine dosing and efficacy signals. He also considers the company’s non-dilutive funding commitments from CPRIT and the NIH as supportive of its clinical plans without materially constraining other pipeline programs. Based on a risk-adjusted DCF and sum-of-the-parts framework that incorporates probabilities of success for MT-601 and other assets, along with a 12% discount rate and a 6x terminal multiple, he arrives at an implied equity value that supports his $10 price target and Buy recommendation, while acknowledging multiple development, competitive, and financing risks.

In another report released on December 23, Canaccord Genuity also maintained a Buy rating on the stock with a $8.00 price target.