Antibe Therapeutics still has huge upside, Echelon says

After first quarter results that were largely in-line with his expectations, Echelon Capital Markets analyst Stefan Quenneville still believes there is a lot of money to be made on Antibe Therapeutics (Antibe Therapeutics Stock Quote, Chart, News, Analysts, Financials TSX:ATE).

On August 14, Antibe reported its first quarter, 2024 results. The company lost $5.8-million compared to a loss of $5.5-million in the same period a year prior.

“With tablets in hand, we’re excited to be approaching several near-term catalysts,” CEO Dan Legault said. “We’ll kick off our otenaproxesul clinical program in the fall with a short PK/PD study to confirm liver safety and form the doses for the Phase II trial, which is slated to start in the first quarter of 2024. Top-line Phase II data are expected late next spring – positive results would set the stage for an End of Phase 2 meeting with the FDA later in 2024. All of this reflects a tremendous behind-the-scenes effort by our scientific, manufacturing and regulatory teams, supported by our global manufacturing partner. The opportunity to capture share in a market roiled by the opioid epidemic has never been greater.”

Toronto-based Antibe Therapeutics, a drug developer for the acute pain and inflammation markets, has a platform of hydrogen sulfide-releasing (H2S) analogs including otenaproxesul, an analog of commonly-used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) naproxen.

In a research update to clients August 15, Quenneville maintained his “Speculative Buy” rating and $2.00 target price on ATE, implying a return of 251 per cent at the time of publication.

The analyst characterized the quarter.

“ATE reported FQ124 results that came largely in line with our expectations as the timeline for Phase II bunionectomy initiation and top line data from the study remains on track,” he said. “As such, we are maintaining our Speculative Buy rating and $2.00 price target. Given the abuse potential of opioid treatments and the gastrointestinal side-effects NSAIDs, the US$13B acute pain market remains a meaningful commercial opportunity for Antibe. With the stock trading close to its cash value of ~$0.54/shr ($34.3M), Antibe remains an opportunity for investors with a high-risk tolerance.”

Quenneville thinks ATE will post EBITDA of negative $23.3-million in fiscal 2024.