Piper Jaffray initiated coverage of ReWalk Robotics (NASDAQ:RWLK) with an “overweight” rating and price target of $10. The stock closed at $7.02 on Thursday.
“While the exoskeleton market for personal use is in what we would categorize as the market creation phase, which carries a higher degree of risk and volatility, we believe ReWalk has the first mover advantage, best technology and a solid business plan to further penetrate this large, relatively untapped market,” writes analyst Matt O’Brien.
He estimates the market opportunity for exoskeleton suits for spinal cord injury patients to be about $6.4-billion, with another $26-million available in rehabilitation centers.
While reimbursement continues to be the greatest headwind to adoption of these unique exoskeleton systems, Mr. O’Brien said there recently have been favorable dynamics here, which should allow more patients to access a unit.
“Investors with the ability to invest in a micro-cap stocks that can handle the volatility, and truly believe in this market development should be, in our opinion, starting positions in the name,” he added.
