GRPH - Graphite Bio climbs as BMO initiates with $12 target

Clinical-stage biotech Graphite Bio (NASDAQ:GRPH) traded sharply higher on Friday after BMO Capital Markets initiated its coverage with an Outperform rating and a $12 per share target implying a premium of ~461% to the last close. The analyst Kostas Biliouris highlights the company’s gene-editing method noting that it is less vulnerable to errors compared to the first gen approaches. Graphite (GRPH) has optimized the approach to achieve editing efficiency ensuring the method leads to a therapeutic effect, the analyst added. “Taken together, Graphite’s platform is expected to be safer than existing approaches, while maintaining sufficiently high efficacy,” he wrote. In addition, Biliouris notes that the company’s lead program for sickle cell disease, unlike rival programs, directly corrects the mutation causing the disease, a process with higher potential to prevent organ damage.   Previously: Kostas Biliouris picked Legend Biotech (LEGN) and Verve Therapeutics (VERV) as his top picks in biotech.

For further details see:

Graphite Bio climbs as BMO initiates with $12 target