CymaBay price target raised to $19 from $12 at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler analyst Yasmeen Rahimi raised the firm’s price target on CymaBay to $19 from $12 to reflect increased confidence in the company and seladelpar’s commercial opportunity, while keeping an Overweight rating on the shares.CymaBay is the firm’s top small cap pick for 2023 for several reasons, namely the recent raise and Kaken deal that removes the cash overhang, Phase 3 RESPONSE that is on track for reporting in Q3 2023, recent epidemiology data suggesting a larger addressable population for seladelpar versus previous predictions, CymaBay’s NDA package that will include over 400 PBC patients in the safety database, and seladelpar that could be the most effective drug in 2L PBC givenits anti-inflammatory effect and benefit on itch reduction giving it a competitive edge.