AXSM - Axsome gains as Cantor favors rollout of new portfolio additions

Axsome Therapeutics ( NASDAQ: AXSM ) rose sharply on Tuesday as Cantor Fitzgerald noted favorable early trends in the rollout of the company’s new additions to the portfolio, sleep disorder therapy Sunosi and depression treatment Auvelity.

Axsome ( AXSM ) acquired the U.S. rights for Sunosi from Jazz Pharmaceuticals ( JAZZ ) in May. In October, the company launched Auvelity following the FDA approval of the rapid-acting oral therapy for major depressive disorder in adults.

Noting that the company introduced Auvelity at an annual price of $13.5K, nearly a two-fold rise from the firm’s previous estimate, Cantor analyst Charles Duncan raised the price target on Axsome ( AXSM ) to $96 from $88 per share mainly to account for the price hike.

“The company indicated its educational initiatives were gaining traction, with interest from prescribers targeted by its digital centric commercialization (DCC) platform,” the analyst wrote. Duncan, who reiterated his Overweight rating on Axsome ( AXSM ), estimates over $3B in annual sales for the treatment in 2034.

On Sunosi, the analyst noted that during the first full quarter of its U.S. sales, the company added $16.8M in revenue thanks to a rise in prescriptions even amid “usual headwinds” on patient visits during Q3. He expects Sunosi sales to run “a gradual northward trajectory” given the mature narcolepsy market.

In 2019, the FDA greenlighted Sunosi as a treatment to improve wakefulness in adults with excessive daytime sleepiness associated with narcolepsy or obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

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