Key insights
- Guggenheim reiterated its Buy rating and $100 price target on Celldex Therapeutics (CLDX), maintaining it as a top pick. The firm cited strong Phase III data for barzolvolimab in chronic spontaneous urticaria, with a BLA submission planned for 2027. Positive developments are also noted for barzolvolimab in other indications and for CDX-622 in asthma, suggesting potential pipeline expansion and efficacy signals that could benefit the stock.
Investing.com -- Guggenheim has reiterated Celldex Therapeutics as its top pick in the biopharmaceutical sector, citing strong Phase III data and expanding pipeline opportunities for the company’s lead drug candidate barzolvolimab.
The investment firm’s analysis follows Celldex’s third-quarter 2026 earnings report and pipeline updates for barzolvolimab, an anti-KIT monoclonal antibody, and CDX-622, an anti-SCFxTSLP bispecific antibody. Guggenheim maintains a Buy rating on the stock with a $100 price target.
Guggenheim highlighted multiple positive developments across Celldex’s pipeline. In chronic spontaneous urticaria, barzolvolimab demonstrated best-in-disease topline Phase III data from the EMBARQ-CSU1/2 studies in September, including results in patients who did not respond to omalizumab or those with severe angioedema.
Treatment in both studies continues to 52 weeks, with a Biologics License Application submission planned for 2027. For chronic inducible urticaria, the global Phase III EMBARQ-ColdU and -SD study in cold urticaria and symptomatic dermographism is actively enrolling approximately 240 patients.
Barzolvolimab was the first drug to show benefit in these conditions in a large randomized, placebo-controlled study, with benefits appearing as early as Week 2 and lasting through the 20-week treatment period. In atopic dermatitis, the Phase II study has fully enrolled approximately 120 patients, with topline data expected in late 2026.
Guggenheim noted that market expectations remain low for this readout following discontinuation in prurigo nodularis, suggesting any significant efficacy signals would benefit the stock. Management plans to announce additional indications for barzolvolimab by year-end 2026.
For CDX-622, the Phase I proof-of-mechanism study in asthma is ongoing to generate safety and pharmacokinetic data, expected in 2027. The candidate deeply and durably reduced serum tryptase in Phase I without barzolvolimab’s KIT-related effects.
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