Several analysts started covering drug developer Bind Therapeutics with positive ratings Tuesday, praising the company’s experimental cancer drug and its technology.
THE OPINION: Bind Therapeutics, which went public in September, has no products on the market. It is developing Accurins, which are designed to target specific cells or tissues and deliver a treatment to a disease site. The goal is to enhance the treatment’s effectiveness while limiting the impact on healthy tissue. Its most advanced drug candidate is BIND-014, a version of the chemotherapy drug docetaxel. Bind is studying the drug as a treatment for lung cancer and prostate cancer.
Analysts for Cowen and Co., Credit Suisse and Stifel Nicolaus began covering the stock with ratings at “Buy” or the equivalent. Analyst Eric Schmidt of Cowen said the Cambridge, Mass., company has reported promising early data for BIND-014 and said Bind has important partnerships with larger drugmakers Amgen Inc., AstraZeneca PLC, and Pfizer Inc.
“We believe the company’s Accurin technology has the potential to deliver innovative, high-value medicines,” he said, adding that BIND-014 could have “blockbuster commercial potential.”
Schmidt set a price target of $30 per share.
Credit Suisse analyst Jason Kantor said he believes Accurins could be used in treatment of a wide variety of illnesses, and set a price target of $21 per share.
Joel Sendek of Stifel Nicolaus established a price target of $20 per share.
“We believe the Accurin technology could continue to generate new pipeline products for the next decade,” he wrote.
THE STOCK: Shares of Bind Therapeutics Inc. lost 24 cents to $15.03 in midday trading. The stock began trading on Sept. 20 after Bind’s initial public offering priced at $15 per share.
