Morgan Stanley Resumes Coverage of Alumis (ALMS) with $23 PT

On Monday, Morgan Stanley resumed its coverage of Alumis Inc. (NASDAQ:ALMS) with an Overweight rating and a $23 price target after the company’s recent merger with Acelyrin and its Q1 2025 earnings release.

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A key catalyst for Alumis’ shares is expected to be the release of Phase 3 data in Q1 2026 for ESK-001, which is the company’s lead pipeline program that targets psoriasis. The significance of ESK-001 is underscored by previous positive Phase 2 data, which showed sustained and increasing clinical responses, such as high rates of PASI 75 (75% improvement in Psoriasis Area and Severity Index) and PASI 90 (90% improvement), along with a favorable safety profile over 52 weeks.

The collaboration and licensing agreement with Kaken Pharmaceutical for ESK-001 in dermatology in Japan also highlights the global commercial potential for this asset. This included an upfront license fee of $20 million in March and an additional $20 million in near-term co-development payments. In Q1 2025, which was reported earlier in May, Alumis reported license revenue of $17.4 million from the Kaken collaboration. Later in the same month, the merger with Acelyrin Inc. was also completed.

Alumis Inc. (NASDAQ:ALMS) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that develops and commercializes medicines for autoimmune disorders. The company was formerly known as Esker Therapeutics Inc. and changed its name to Alumis Inc. in January 2022.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.