As investors, we should never underestimate the power of a convincing buy recommendation from an analyst. That was the dynamic behind the impressive rise of Edgewise Therapeutics (EWTX 2.07%) stock on Monday; after a pundit who's been tracking the biotech for some time reiterated her bullish view on its potential, investors traded it up by 4% on the day. That crushed the 0.5% increase of the bellwether S&P 500 index.
A bull stays the course
The analyst in question was Piper Sandler's Yasmeen Rahimi. Monday morning, she reiterated her overweight recommendation on Edgewise's equity and her $51 per share price target.
Image source: Getty Images.
In fact, according to reports, Rahimi considers Edgewise to be one of Piper Sandler's best stock ideas for this year. This conviction centers around the company's leading cardiovascular drug candidate, EDG-7500, a treatment that targets a genetic heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).
The treatment is currently in a Phase 2 clinical trial, with a readout expected in the second quarter of this calendar year. In the analyst's view, its novel functionality sets it apart from HCM treatments currently on the market, which should give it an edge when and if it is approved for commercialization.
NASDAQ: EWTX
Key Data Points
A muscular development effort
That's not the only ace up Edgewise's sleeve, in Rahimi's view. She wrote that several of the company's other pipeline programs have solid potential, and I'd readily agree. In addition to those cardiovascular drugs, the company is also well advanced in developing Sevasemten, a muscular dystrophy treatment currently well advanced in the development cycle.
