Carisma Therapeutics initiated with an Outperform at Baird

Baird analyst Jack Allen initiated coverage of Carisma Therapeutics (CARM) with an Outperform rating and $10 price target. Carisma’s lead asset is CT-0508, an autologous HER2-targeted CAR-macrophage therapy, and the firm is "encouraged" by the monotherapy data that it believes shows proof-of-mechanism. Carisma plans to announce initial data from the CT-0508+prembrolizumab cohorts in the second half of this year, which Baird thinks "could spark significant investor enthusiasm for this approach," says the analyst, who also notes the development of in vivo CAR-M programs via a collaboration with Moderna (MRNA).