BioTuesdays

JP Morgan starts ObsEva at OW; PT $29

ObsEva

J.P. Morgan launched coverage of ObsEva SA (NASDAQ:OBSV) with an “overweight” rating and a price target of $29 at the end of 2019. The stock closed at $14.40 on Sept. 12.

“We view ObsEva as an underappreciated, emerging clinical-stage player in the women’s health space, with two pivotal stage assets addressing significant commercial opportunities, and wholly owned rights in major markets,” writes analyst Eric Joseph.

“Following recent Phase 2 proof-of-concept data, we believe lead asset, linzagolix, is a differentiated offering for the treatment of endometriosis (EM) and uterine fibroids (UF), and meaningfully de-risked into Phase 3,” he added.

Acknowledging the competitive dynamic to the emerging gonadotropin-releasing hormoneantagonists antagonist class, Mr. Joseph said there is room in the EM/UF market – a $10-billion-plus total addressable market for the U.S./EU – to support multiple products with multi-hundred million dollars in sales potential, and opportunities for specific linzagolix differentiation.”

In addition, he said Phase 3-ready IVF candidate, nolasiban, provides ObsEva interesting pipeline optionality, with the potential to be a meaningful value driver in the near-to mid-term.