Guggenheim starts Verastem with a Buy, sees ‘potential deep value opportunity’

As previously reported, Guggenheim analyst Michael Schmidt initiated coverage of Verastem with a Buy rating and $13 price target. The clinical-stage biotech company is focused on advancing the combination of avutometinib and defactinib, or A+D, for the treatment of low-grade serous ovarian cancer, or LGSOC, a rare chemoresistant tumor with high unmet needs, and the combination has reported interim pivotal data from the Phase 2 RAMP 201 study in recurrent LGSOC showing clinically meaningful efficacy and differentiated safety relative to the standard of care, the analyst tells investors. Investor debates on the accelerated approval path and market opportunity in LGSOC following recent mixed data have pressured shares to levels that the firm argues “represent a potential deep value opportunity for a late clinical-stage company with multiple near-term potential catalysts.”