Jason Butler, an analyst from JMP Securities, reiterated the Buy rating on Cytokinetics (CYTK – Research Report). The associated price target remains the same with $78.00.
Jason Butler has given his Buy rating due to a combination of factors, primarily centered around the anticipated positive outcomes from the Phase 3 MAPLE-HCM trial. This trial is expected to yield results that could significantly differentiate aficamten as a leading treatment option for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Butler’s confidence is bolstered by the results from the FOREST-HCM open-label extension trial, which demonstrated that patients could maintain efficacy with aficamten monotherapy after discontinuing other therapies.
Furthermore, the MAPLE-HCM trial is notable for being the first to compare a cardiac myosin inhibitor directly with beta-blockers in treating obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The trial’s design, with a high probability of demonstrating significant improvement, supports the potential for aficamten to become a first-line therapy. Positive results could lead to a 10-15% stock upside, reinforcing the Buy rating, while negative outcomes pose a lesser risk of downside. These factors collectively underpin Butler’s optimistic outlook on Cytokinetics’ stock.
In another report released on April 8, Needham also maintained a Buy rating on the stock with a $72.00 price target.
Based on the recent corporate insider activity of 154 insiders, corporate insider sentiment is negative on the stock. This means that over the past quarter there has been an increase of insiders selling their shares of CYTK in relation to earlier this year.