BofA Revives Myokardia With New Buy Rating

In this article:

Myokardia Inc (NASDAQ: MYOK) stock is up 290 percent year-over-year, but upcoming stimulants could drive additional outperformance, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

The Analyst

BofA's Tazeen Ahmad initiated coverage of Myokardia with a Buy rating and $71 price target.

The Thesis

The biotechā€™s candidates focus on two common cardiovascular diseases with no U.S.-approved therapies.

ā€œWe view MYOKā€™s focus in areas of undermet need which have relatively large addressable populations as providing meaningful upside leverage,ā€ Ahmad said in a Tuesday note. (See the analyst's track record here.)

Mavacamten demonstrated favorable tolerability and efficacy in a Phase 2 study in obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. A pivotal Phase 3 trial will begin this year and, by Ahmad's assessment, ā€œshould further validate MYOKā€™s platform.ā€

Sanofi SA (ADR) (NYSE: SNY)ā€™s recent investment in Mavacamtem is a positive indicator for the drugā€™s prospects, the analyst said.

At the same time, the data is seen to derisk a parallel study in non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which is expected to yield Phase 2 results in the second half of 2019.

ā€œWe believe both conditions could be underdiagnosed and note multiple opportunities for upside,ā€ Ahmad said.

The firmā€™s MYK-491 is seen to represent a more urgent need for a potentially broader population.

Considering Myokardiaā€™s pipeline, BofA anticipates $200-million capital raises in 2019 and 2020 as the programs expand and forecast peak mavacamten sales of $1.5 billion.

Price Action

At the time of publication, Myokardia shares were trading up 2.74 percent at $54.35.

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Latest Ratings for MYOK

Jul 2018

Bank of America

Initiates Coverage On

Buy

Mar 2018

BMO Capital

Maintains

Outperform

Outperform

Mar 2018

Credit Suisse

Maintains

Outperform

Outperform

View More Analyst Ratings for MYOK
View the Latest Analyst Ratings

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