Moody’s downgrades Senegal to Caa1 amid rising debt concerns
Investing.com - BofA Securities initiated coverage on Scholar Rock (NASDAQ:SRRK) with a Buy rating and a price target of $53.00 on Thursday. The target aligns with the broader analyst consensus, as tracked by InvestingPro, which shows price targets ranging from $43 to $54. The stock has shown strong momentum, gaining nearly 10% in the past week.
The research firm is bullish on Scholar Rock’s development of apitegromab (api™), an intravenous antibody therapy designed as an adjunctive treatment for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a rare genetic neuromuscular disease that primarily affects children. With a market capitalization of $3.72 billion and a healthy current ratio of 6.33, the company appears well-positioned to advance its development programs. According to InvestingPro, the company maintains moderate debt levels and its liquid assets exceed short-term obligations, providing financial flexibility for its drug development initiatives.
BofA Securities noted that while current approved SMA therapies such as Spinraza, Evrysdi, and Zolgensma help reduce progressive motor neuron loss, they are not curative and disease progression continues, leaving significant unmet medical needs. For deeper insights into Scholar Rock’s market position and comprehensive financial analysis, investors can access the detailed Pro Research Report available exclusively on InvestingPro, which covers over 1,400 US stocks.
The firm highlighted that apitegromab works through a different mechanism than existing treatments by inhibiting myostatin, a protein that causes muscle breakdown, thereby potentially reducing muscle atrophy in SMA patients.
This approach directly addresses key symptoms of the disease, complementing existing therapies that focus on preventing further motor neuron deterioration, according to BofA Securities’ analysis.
In other recent news, Scholar Rock has faced significant developments concerning its spinal muscular atrophy drug, apitegromab. The company received a Complete Response Letter (CRL) from the FDA, attributed to procedural issues at a Catalent manufacturing site, rather than any concerns about the drug itself. This has led to several analysts adjusting their outlooks for Scholar Rock. Piper Sandler lowered its price target to $51 while maintaining an Overweight rating, citing the manufacturing issues as the sole reason for the CRL. Similarly, H.C. Wainwright reduced its target to $44, keeping a Buy rating, noting no deficiencies in the drug’s efficacy or safety. Leerink Partners also adjusted its price target to $48, maintaining an Outperform rating, and revised its launch timeline to the second quarter of 2026 due to approval timing uncertainties. Despite these setbacks, the company has emphasized that the FDA’s concerns were not related to the drug’s clinical data.
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