Citi Comments on Apellis Pharmaceuticals (APLS), Moves PT to $106
Citi analyst Yigal Nochomovitz raised the price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: APLS) to $106.00 (from $88.00) while maintaining a Buy rating.
The analyst comments "The first quarter of any drug launch is frequently a wildcard. Syfovre embodied this uncertainty given 1) mid-1Q23 approval, 2) temporary J-code, and 3) unclear appetite among retinal physicians for a GA therapy presenting an unfamiliar value proposition (prophylaxis against visual decline) vs. the established anti-VEGF treatment paradigm in wAMD (rapid visual gain). Despite these well-appreciated headwinds, which translated into very modest 1Q23 revenue expectations (Citi/cns of ~$1.7M/~$1.2M) Apellis‘ intensive market education fueled by Syfovre’s strong label, first-to-market positioning, and exceptionally high visibility (CBS News, 2/28/23) delivered an impressive 1Q23 result of $18.4M in 31 days (Syfovre launched 3/1). While the following comparison may not be appropriate on an ongoing basis, it’s still worth noting that at least out-of-the-gates, Syfovre’s run-rate is very similar to Eylea’s first quarter (4Q11, $24.8M over ~40 days). We are modeling ~$34M for Syfovre in 2Q23. Reiterating Buy and raising price target to $106."