CRDL stock has a huge upside, says Leede Jones Gable

Following news from the company, Leede Jones Gable analyst Douglas Loe remains bullish about Cardiol Therapeutics (Cardiol Therapeutics Stock Quote, Chart, News, Analysts, Financials TSX:CRDL)

On September 19, CRDL announced that all collaborating clinical research centers are now initiated and eligible to enroll patients in its Phase 2 trail for Acute Myocarditis trial, Archer.

“Initiation of all clinical research centres, coupled with the current rate of randomizations, as well as an expected increase in acute myocarditis cases as the northern hemisphere enters the viral infection seasons of autumn and winter, provide us a high degree of confidence to forecast that Archer will complete full patient enrolment ahead of schedule,” Cardiol CMO Dr. Andrew Hamer said. “This is a significant milestone in expanding the reach of Archer worldwide and contributing to evaluating the clinical potential of CardiolRx in acute myocarditis, an inflammatory condition of the heart muscle characterized by chest pain, impaired heart function, arrhythmias and conduction disturbances. The data generated from patients who enroll in Archer will provide important information in support of the use of CardiolRx as a novel small molecule therapeutic approach for this debilitating rare disease, which is an important cause of acute and fulminant heart failure, and a leading cause of sudden cardiac death in people under 35 years of age, for which there are no approved therapies.”

Loe says the development is expected and baked into his bullish price target, which he reiterated in a September 19 update to clients.

“Cardiol’s update on Phase II ARCHER enrollment timelines is consistent with our projected timelines to acute myocarditis data and we are thus maintaining our Speculative Buy rating and one-year PT of $4.50 on CRDL as a consequence,” the analyst said. “Our valuation as before is based on NPV and multiples of our F2028 EBITDA/EPS forecasts that are themselves driven by our expectations that CardiolRx can demonstrate clinical efficacy in at least three cardiovascular pathologies (acute myocarditis and recurrent pericarditis as described above, and diastolic heart failure with an injectable CardiolRx form for which we assume IND-enabling studies are ongoing). At current levels, our PT corresponds to a one-year return of 257%, a return that may seem aggressive in soft healthcare capital markets but less so in our view when considering that the firm has validating Phase II data on the horizon in one indication (recurrent pericarditis, probably in a quarter or two) and possibly by end-of-F2024 in another indication (acute myocarditis).”

Loe’s $4.50 price target implied a return of 257 per cent at the time of publication.