On Wednesday, Guggenheim maintained its buy rating on Vigil Neuroscience Inc (NASDAQ: VIGL) but reduced its price target to $17 from $19. The adjustment follows a recent discussion with the company's management after the fourth-quarter earnings release.
Vigil Neuroscience is generating significant interest with its Phase II ALSP study for the drug iluzanebart, a TREM2 agonist monoclonal antibody. The trial, which has exceeded enrollment expectations, is scheduled to present additional data in the third quarter of 2024. This data will include a 12-month follow-up for the 20mg/kg cohort and a 6-month follow-up for the 40mg/kg cohort. The outcomes are expected to provide insights into the optimal dosing and potential cognitive benefits of the treatment.
In the lead-up to the data release, Vigil Neuroscience plans to share more details about the correlations observed in their ILLUMINATE natural history study. These details, which pertain to MRI biomarkers and cognitive changes, will be discussed at the upcoming American Academy of Neurology (AAN) meeting from April 13 to April 18, 2024.
The company is also on track to report Phase I healthy volunteer (HV) data for their small molecule TREM2 agonist, VG3927, in mid-2024. Management is looking for durable responses across multiple biomarkers, including sTREM2 and sCSF1R, similar to their expectations for iluzanebart.
With approximately $118 million in cash on hand, management believes they have sufficient funds to operate into the second half of 2025. Vigil Neuroscience's unique position, having two TREM2 modalities in development, could set them up as a leader in the innate neuroimmunology field. Despite the lowered price target, Guggenheim's reiteration of the buy rating reflects confidence in the company's prospects.
InvestingPro Insights
As Vigil Neuroscience Inc (NASDAQ: VIGL) progresses with its clinical trials, it's important to consider the company's financial health and market performance. According to InvestingPro data, Vigil has a market capitalization of $102.91 million, which reflects the market's current valuation of the company. The stock has experienced significant volatility, with a price that is currently only 25.11% of its 52-week high and a notable one-year price total return of -74.86%. This aligns with the InvestingPro Tip that highlights the stock's substantial decline over the past year.
Furthermore, Vigil's financial metrics reveal challenges, such as a negative adjusted P/E ratio of -1.29 for the last twelve months as of Q4 2023, and an EBITDA that has decreased by 28.6% over the same period. These figures underscore the company's current unprofitability, which is also reflected in another InvestingPro Tip indicating that analysts do not expect Vigil to be profitable this year.
Investors seeking deeper insights can find additional InvestingPro Tips on https://www.investing.com/pro/VIGL. There are 11 more tips available for those looking to make a well-informed decision. Moreover, users can take advantage of a special offer using the coupon code PRONEWS24 to get an additional 10% off a yearly or biyearly Pro and Pro+ subscription.
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