Investment banking and financial services provider Oppenheimer & Co. has initiated price coverage of Toronto-based psychedelic drug developer Cybin Inc. Their detailed equity research report published on Monday puts the 12-18 month price target for Cybin’s NYSE-listed shares at $7, with an outperform rating.
Cybin was granted approval to uplist from the NEO Aequitas Exchange to the NYSE American stock exchange earlier this year. The company is currently among the largest players in the emerging psychedelic drug development space.
Oppenheimer’s report cited a number of contributing factors in their price target, specifically Cybin’s “proven management team” as well as “scalability potential and calculated approach.”
The report went on to say that “As the psychedelic field is gaining steam of late, we are encouraged by CYBN’s biotech approach to drug development and its potential ability to overcome significant scalability issues in the space. In fact, we see its innovative drug delivery systems and novel formulation approaches as key to long-term competitive positioning.”
Other factors included the viability of Cybin’s proprietary psychedelic molecules. CYB001, a sublingual psilocybin strip designed for the treatment of major depressive disorder, is showing promising early efficacy when paired with psychotherapy. Oppenheimer cites the drug’s upcoming Phase 2a testing as a component of its evaluation. In addition, the short duration of action and admittedly early stage potential of another proprietary molecule, CYB003, to satisfy the large, unmet demand for effective therapies to combat alcohol use disorder, is described as “the main reason to own the stock.”
Cybin’s partnership with neuroimaging technology provider Kernel was also listed as key reason for the target price, given that, “As other psychedelic treatments in development demand extensive therapy support (therapist for pre-administration, administration: 6-8 hours, and post-administration), we are encouraged by CYBN’s efforts in digital tools to reduce therapist dependence. We view its recent partnership with Kernel (neuroimaging technology) for real-time data as a potential significant differentiator.”
Cybin CEO Doug Drysdale also recently appeared at the Benzinga Small Cap conference, discussing the company’s role in the future of psychedelics in healthcare.
The author of this piece wishes to state in the interest of full disclosure that he owns shares of Cybin Inc.
