Guggenheim upgrades Mersana Therapeutics on XMT-1660 potential

Guggenheim last night upgraded Mersana Therapeutics to Buy from Neutral with a $7 price target. The analyst says XMT-1660, Mersana’s B7-H4 antibody-drug conjugate in Phase I, represents a potential key value driver for the company in a category that has recently seen significant strategic interest. The firm believes B7-H4+ cancers represent a large potential commercial opportunity of $8B in the U.S. alone and that early clinical data from competitor agents provide clinical validation for the target and highlight room for potential differentiation. Guggenheim sees potential upside to $8 per share with downside to $2 on positive/negative XMT-1660 data this year.