Rapt Therapeutics initiated with a Buy at Guggenheim

Guggenheim analyst Yatin Suneja initiated coverage of Rapt Therapeutics (RAPT) with a Buy rating and $70 price target based on a positive view of its longer-acting anti-IgE monoclonal antibody and its potential to capitalize on a rapidly growing food allergy market. The highly successful launch of Roche’s (RHHBY) Xolair in food allergies has “caught many investors by surprise,” says the analyst, who notes that Rapt’s lead asset, RPT-904, is a longer-acting anti-IgE mAb with YTE mutation that has demonstrated about three times the half-life of Xolair.