Jefferies starts biopharma firm Braveheart at Buy after IPO

Investing.com -- Jefferies initiated coverage of Braveheart Bio with a Buy rating and a $48 price target, implying roughly 75% upside from the stock’s prior closing price. The move comes after the company priced its initial public offering (IPO) at $18 per share earlier this month, raising $382.5 million in one of the largest biotech debuts of 2026.

The clinical-stage biotech is developing BHB-1893, an oral cardiac myosin inhibitor licensed from China-based Hengrui in September 2025, for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a progressive heart disorder affecting more than 700,000 U.S. patients.

Jefferies analysts led by Andrew Tsai said the drug "could offer superior attributes" compared with existing treatments, including Bristol Myers Squibb’s Camzyos and Cytokinetics’ Myqorzo.

The analysts highlighted Phase II data from Hengrui showing BHB-1893 achieved a 76% reduction in a key obstruction measure by week 12, with 86% of patients reaching normalized heart flow, "better than 49-57% in BMY/CYTK’s Phase IIIs after Week 24." None of the responders showed clinically significant reductions in heart pump function, described in the note as having "no LVEF cost."

Jefferies said BHB-1893’s global Phase III study in obstructive HCM, called LIONHEART-HCM, is expected to begin in the second half of 2026, with interim data due in the second half of 2027.

A separate Hengrui-led Phase III study in China is expected to report topline data in the first half of 2027. The company is pursuing an accelerated path toward a new drug application filing as early as year-end 2027.

For non-obstructive HCM, analysts said the drug "could be a best-in-class asset, justifying $2-3B in sales." A Phase III study called NOBLEHEART-HCM is set to begin in the first half of 2027, with data expected in the second half of 2029.

Jefferies’ $48 price target is based on a sum-of-the-parts discounted cash flow analysis, assigning $15 per share to the obstructive HCM opportunity based on $1.5-2 billion in peak sales and a 20%-30% probability of success, $27 per share to non-obstructive HCM based on $2-3 billion in sales and a 25%-35% probability of success, and $4 per share to a heart failure indication based on $1 billion-plus in sales and a 10% probability of success.

The bank’s upside scenario points to $125 per share, while its downside case sits at $6. Jefferies flagged competition, clinical trial translation between Phase II and Phase III, differences between Asian and non-Asian patient populations, and regulatory risk as key considerations for the stock.

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