After Data Release, Cantor Fitzgerald Doubles Bluebird Bio Price Target

bluebird bio Inc BLUE reported compelling data over the weekend at the American Society of Hematology that some experts described as "unheard of."

The Analyst

Cantor Fitzgerald's Elemer Piros reiterated an Underweight on bluebird's stock with a price target boosted from $58 to $113.

The Thesis

Bluebird's data release on its Phase 1 study with the multiple myeloma treatment bb2121 provided a "strengthened profile for the therapy," as it achieved a 94 percent overall response rate, Piros said in a research report. (See Piros' track record here.) 

The data also showed an 89 percent very good partial response rate and 56 percent complete response rate in highly refractory MM patients. Cantor Fitzgerald continues to ascribe a "high" 60 percent probability of success for the program and said it could share peak sales of $2.6 billion by 2026 with its partner Celgene Corporation CELG, Piros said. 

"We believe the longer-term HbA T87Q response of 6.4g/dL and 3.0g/dL achieved in Group B patients validates the improved process' potential to address SCD," the analyst said. "While long-term questions remain, especially as they pertain to sourcing of the drug product from peripheral blood, the updated clinical data lift a key uncertainty on the ability to achieve sufficient vector copy number (VCN) in peripheral blood translating into adequate healthy hemoglobin production."

While the clinical evidence presented is encouraging, the stock's current valuation implies that SCD is "nearly de-risked (85 percent probability of success) or would generate more than the $8 billion in global revenues," Piros said. 

Price Action

Shares of bluebird soared higher by more than 25 percent ahead of Monday's market open.

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