2023-06-20 11:31:51 ET
Oppenheimer has started Galecto ( NASDAQ: GLTO ) with an outperform rating saying that the biotech's fibrosis candidates have upcoming catalysts that could bode well for the company.
The firm has a $12 price target (~323% upside based on Friday's close).
The stock is down 8% in Monday morning trading.
Analyst Jay Olson said that if top-line phase 2 data on lead candidate GB0139 for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis expected mid year is positive, it could be a near-term catalyst. He added those results would need to show good safety and tolerability.
Olson is also excited about Galecto's ( GLTO ) second most advanced asset, GB2064, which is in phase 2 for myelofibrosis. Phase 2 data is expected in H2.
"We view the promising anti-fibrotic effects of GB2064 and emerging risk/benefit profile as favorable in the context of the competitive landscape, supporting a combination approach in MF for patients not on [standard of care]," he wrote. "Specifically, we see GB2064+JAKi as an ideal combination regimen."
Olson called GB121, in phase 2 for liver fibrosis, an "underappreciated asset" given the unmet medical need for the condition.
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Galecto an outperform at Oppenheimer on fibrosis assets catalysts