Investors Should Own Agios For 'The Next Several Years,' Analyst Says

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Agios Pharmaceuticals Inc AGIO, a pharmaceutical company that focuses on the field cellular metabolism to treat cancer and rare genetic diseases, is a stock investors should "own for the next several years," according to Piper Jaffray.

The Analyst

Piper Jaffray's Tyler M. Van Buren initiated coverage of Agios Pharmaceuticals with an Overweight rating and $125 price target.

The Thesis

The bullish case for owning Agios' stock is four-fold, Van Buren said in a note.

  • Agios and its partner Celgene CELG received approval for its idhifa therapy and so far the launch has "gone well" and represents $200 million in potential U.S. sales. The company's tibsovo therapy is similar to idhifa and is under review but should be approved by the end of 2018 and generate another $100 to $150 million in potential sales.
  • Idhifa and tibsovo have shown "encouraging data" in frontline AML, but Van Buren said the opportunities for the therapies will likely expand. Tibsovo, for example, is in a Phase 1 development cholangiocarcinoma and low-grade glioma.
  • Phase 2 data for the company's AG-348 for the treatment pf Pyruvate Kinase Deficiency is favorable so far and indicates a durable 3.4 g/dL increase of hemoglobin in 50 percent of PKD patients.
  • Agios faces a "very large" potential opportunity with its AG-270 for MTAP-deleted tumors. The company is expected to show initial data by early 2019 the latest and could ultimately serve more than 100,000 patients with MTAP-deleted tumors.

Price Action

Shares of Agios Pharmaceuticals closed higher by 3.58 percent at $93.50.

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Posted In: Analyst ColorPrice TargetInitiationAnalyst RatingscancerIdhifaPiper JaffrayTibsovoTyler M Van Buren
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