COGT - Cogent Biosciences gets Piper Sandler nod on Kiq acquisition

Cogent Biosciences (COGT) is up +3.8% after Piper Sandler initiated the coverage with an overweight rating on the stock. The price target at $22 per share is +80.3% to yesterday’s close.Noting that the ‘risk/reward now meaningfully skews to the upside after the company’s acquisition of Kiq LLC and the divestment of its cell therapy assets’, the analyst Christopher Raymond terms the newly-added clinical-stage compound PLX9486 as 'a potent and selective KIT inhibitor’ that could become the standard of care for indolent systemic mastocytosis.'In August, Cogent, previously-known as Unum Therapeutics, announced the acquisition of the privately-held Kiq, in an all-stock deal.Raymond thinks PLX9486 could also become a treatment option in the advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumor, for which Blueprint Medicines (BPMC) received conditional marketing authorization in Europe for its kinase inhibitor, AYVAKYT® (avapritinib) in September.Observing a more favorable safety profile of PLX9486 compared to avapritinib, the analyst highlights a ‘sizeable valuation gap’ between Cogent and the market

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Cogent Biosciences gets Piper Sandler nod on Kiq acquisition