Cantor ups Rapt target to $71 after 'robust' atopic dermatitis data

Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Alethia Young raised the firm's price target on Rapt Therapeutics to $71 from $51 and reiterates an Overweight rating on the shares. The stock in midday trading is up 110%, or $19.60, to $38.17. This morning's RPT193 data update "was robust with clear clinical benefit compared to placebo on all exploratory endpoints," Young tells investors in a research note. The analyst took the drug's probability of success in atopic dermatitis to 50% from 25% previously, and increased her peak sales estimates. Young sees a "large unmet need" for a safe and effective oral treatment which is separate from the injectable market, and models peak sales of $4B in atopic dermatitis by 2035. She views Rapt's risk/benefit profile as potentially best-in-class for an oral treatment.