Arvinas (ARVN)

The second stock we’ll loot at is Arvinas, a biotech company working with protein degradation, a new field in clinical research offering plenty of open avenues to research new therapeutic agents. Arvinas is at the clinical stage, and is using its proprietary PROTAC platform to engineer proteolysis targeting chimeras which can be used in the treatment of a variety of debilitating and life-threatening conditions. The company has 11 active research tracks, including 3 at the clinical trial level.

Arvinas’ leading drug candidate, ARV-471 (a co-development with Pfizer) is being studied as a treatment for metastatic breast cancer – and earlier this week, the company announced new data from the VERITAC Phase 2 expansion trial.  The data showed a 38% clinical benefit rate, along with a continued favorable tolerability profile. The full data release is scheduled for early next month. Arvinas intends to initiate two Phase 3 studies of ARV-471 – the first by the end of this year..

The company has two additional clinical research tracks. The first of these, on ARV-110, or bavdegalutamide, is a study in the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). During the upcoming 1H23, the Arvinas expects to confirm the dose selection and receive health authority feedback prior to a global Phase 3 trial, scheduled for initiation in the second half of next year. On the other drug candidate, ARV-766, Arvinas is preparing to release Phase 1 dose escalation trial data, against mCRPC (metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer), during the second quarter of 2023.

Analyst Richard Law, from Credit Suisse, recently updated his coverage of Arvinas, writing, “ARVN is now our new ‘Top Pick’… based on ARV-471’s best-in-class potential as an estrogen receptor degrader. Furthermore, we are upgrading ARVN as our ‘top pick’ due to the many upcoming catalysts that could potentially boost the stock price and the high confidence from ARVN and PFE in launching two pivotal studies for ARV-471 ahead of completion of Ph. 2 studies.”

Law puts an Outperform (i.e. Buy) rating here, along with an $81 price target indicating potential for 105% upside in the year ahead.

With 11 analyst reviews on file, breaking down to 9 Buys and 2 Holds, Arvinas gets a Strong Buy rating from the Street’s analyst consensus. The average price target of $77.60 suggests a robust 96% upside from the current going share price of $39.56.