Maxim Group Upgrades Titan Pharma As 'ProNeura Pivots To Pruritus'

Titan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. TTNP is set to begin a new phase, according to Maxim Group, after undergoing several changes in strategy, management, capital structure and financing through 2020 and into 2021.

The Titan Pharmaceuticals Analyst: Jason McCarthy upgraded the rating for Titan Pharmaceuticals from Hold to Buy, while establishing a price target of $11.

The Titan Pharmaceuticals Thesis: Given the changes at the company and a cash runway into 2022, there is “value to be unlocked,” McCarthy said.

“Efforts around commercialization of Probuphine (buprenorphine ProNeura implant) are being 'smartly', in our view, wound down. The technology in ProNeura delivery is now shifting toward its next indications, most notably targeting pruritus with a peptide-based therapeutic, JT-09 (acquired from JT Pharma [private] in 4Q20),” the analyst wrote in a note.

“Management also plans to develop ProNeura-based nalmefene for prevention/treatment of opioid overdose,” he added.

“Our view is that Titan has essentially hit the 'reset' button and taken what we view as an attractive and de-risked drug delivery technology, and steered it toward potential high-value therapeutic areas,” McCarthy noted.

TTNP Price Action: Shares of Titan Pharmaceuticals jumped 23% to $4.40 on Thursday.

(Photo: Titan Pharmaceuticals)