Crescent Biopharma initiated with a Buy at Stifel

Stifel initiated coverage of Crescent Biopharma (CBIO) with a Buy rating and $28 price target The stock represents an attractive opportunity to gain rationally-valued exposure/leverage to the emerging PD-1xVEGF bispecific class now poised to potentially displace/expand a greater than$50B PD-1-targeting mAb market, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Stifel adds that its $7.5B+ peak sales estimate across lung/GI/gynecological malignancies reflects its belief that “thoughtful” indication selection and clinical execution can yield meaningful CR-001-based value creation in the absence of any biological and mechanistic differentiation.