Leerink upgrades Amylyx on avexitide growth opportunity

Leerink analyst Marc Goodman upgraded Amylyx (AMLX) to Outperform from Market Perform with a price target of $10, up from $4. The firm thinks the company’s avexitide, GLP-1 antagonist, will be the first drug approved for post-bariatric hypoglycemia, a chronic condition that affects upwards of 8% of patients who have undergone bariatric surgery and currently have no available treatment. Avexitide has a “solid chance of working” in the registrational study given that it has already shown consistent efficacy across 2 Phase 2 studies in lowering the incidence of Level 2/3 hypoglycemia events and lowering the rate of glycemic rescue needed in the PREVENT Phase 2 study, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Leerink views PBH as an area of high unmet need. It thinks avexitide can drive near-term share value for Amylyx given its peak sales estimate of $680M by 2039, “even with conservative modeling assumptions.”