Barclays initiated coverage with an 'overweight' rating and lofty price targets
The shares of biopharmaceutical companies Cellectis SA (NASDAQ:CLLS) and Eidos Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:EIDX) are higher today, with help from some upbeat analyst attention. Both CLLS and EIDX received new "overweight" ratings, and the brokerage firms set price targets that imply expected upside of more than 70%.
Barclays Sees Record Highs Ahead for Cellectis
Specifically, Barclays initiated coverage of Cellectis stock with an "overweight" endorsement and a $50 price target -- a premium of 76% to the security's close of $28.35 on Friday, and in uncharted territory. The analysts waxed optimistic on the cell therapy specialist's partnerships with Allogene and Calyxt, the latter of which could provide additional upside in the form of agricultural opportunities. Further, Barclays sees a "reasonable chance of clinical success for UCART19," and believes off-the-shelf CAR-Ts are "the future of CAR-T therapy."
CLLS stock is up 4.3% to trade at $29.57, at last check. The shares have been in a channel of higher highs and lows since late 2016, nearly doubling in that time frame. With today's push higher, Cellectis stock is poised to end the session back in the black for 2018.
Despite the equity's long-term uptrend, short sellers have been piling on in recent weeks. Short interest on CLLS jumped more than 38% in the past two reporting periods. However, these bearish bets make up less than 2% of the security's total available float.
Analysts Weigh In On Wall Street Rookie EIDX
Eidos Therapeutics stock is up 2.1% to trade at $21.20. The shares went public not even one month ago, debuting at $20 -- above their initial public offering (IPO) price of $17. After exploring a range of $18.10 to $24.75 on its first day of trading, EIDX stock has since traded mostly in the $20-$23 range.
Today, Barclays and J.P. Morgan Securities initiated coverage of Eido with "overweight" ratings and respective price targets of $32 and $36. The latter target represents expected upside of 73% to EIDX's close of $20.77 on Friday.