Wedbush bullish on Artiva Biotherapeutics, initiates with an Outperform

As previously reported, Wedbush analyst David Nierengarten initiated coverage of Artiva Biotherapeutics with an Outperform rating and $18 price target. The firm says Artiva has the potential to create a cell therapy for autoimmune diseases that is straightforward to manufacture, deliver, and adaptable to different targets. The company’s lead asset, AlloNK, is a non-genetically modified UBC-derived NK cell therapy that is in clinical trials in combination with B-cell targeted mAbs for autoimmune indications and B-NHL. Wedbush believes the initial results generated from the Phase 1/2 B-NHL study of AlloNK plus rituximab, which showed deep B-cell depletion in both peripheral blood and lymphoid tissues, have de-risked the company’s autoimmune programs.