Benzinga | Oct 27, 2020 01:35PM EDT

Piper Sandler Initiates Coverage On Aptinyx On PTSD Candidate

The market's skepticism around Aptinyx Inc's (NASDAQ:APTX) post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) candidate appears overdone, according to Piper Sandler.

The Aptinyx Analyst: Christopher Raymond initiated coverage of Aptinyx with an Overweight rating and a price target of $10.

The Aptinyx Thesis: Apart from the PTSD candidate, another two modulators show "meaningful potential," which could lend upside to the stock over the intermediate- to longer-term, Raymond said.

"We understand the skepticism around PTSD but objectively, NYX-783 is the most promising agent in this condition in decades... And with management guiding to initiation of a pivotal trial next year, we think any sign of tacit FDA endorsement of these data is likely to be stock-moving," he wrote in a note.

"Alongside NYX-783, another high-potential NMDAR modulator is NYX-2925, which should restart P2 enrollment in painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy this quarter, with POC data by 2022," the analyst added.

Combining these compounds, the worldwide end-user revenue estimates are $159 million, $372 million, $605 million, $867 million, and $1.1 billion for 2026 through 2030, respectively, Raymond said.

APTX Price Action: Shares of Aptinyx were down 2% to $2.92 at the time of publication Tuesday.