Cogent upgraded to Buy at Stifel after ‘overwhelmingly positive’ GIST data

Stifel upgraded Cogent Biosciences (COGT) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $40, up from $16, after the company reported “overwhelmingly positive” results in the Phase 3 PEAK study of bezuclastinib plus sunitinib versus sunitinib alone in patients with imatinib-resistant or intolerant gastrointestinal stromal tumors. The combination arm PFS of 16.5 months is significantly higher than investor expectations of 11-12 months and this result also helps ward off competitive pressure from (GSK) GSK, which at CTOS reported a Phase 1 PFS of 15 months in second-line GIST, the analyst tells investors.