Stifel starts Lexeo at buy, cites ataxia and Alzheimer’s drug candidates (LXEO)

Stifel has started coverage of newly public Lexeo Therapeutics (NASDAQ:LXEO) with a buy rating, saying it was bullish on the company’s lead drug candidate LX2006 in the treatment of Friedreich’s ataxia and sees a potential Alzheimer’s therapy getting little credit in the stock’s valuation.

Stifel said that Lexeo “checks a number of key boxes,” namely its promising early data, commercially attractive indications with truly unmet needs, experienced management team and several near-to-mid-term catalysts for the stock.

“More broadly, we think Lexeo stands to benefit from an increasingly flexible regulatory path in CV gene therapy,” wrote Stifel, adding that Lexeo’s “creative Alzheimer’s therapy, while risky, we think garners little credit in the stock today.”

Stifel set its price target for the stock at $20.