Centessa Pharmaceuticals could be at the forefront of a leading narcolepsy treatment that can send its shares soaring, according to Morgan Stanley. Analyst Jeffrey Hung upgraded the clinical-stage pharmaceutical company to overweight from equal weight. He also lifted his 12-month price target by $15 to $26 — which suggests a whopping 64% potential upside. Shares are up nearly 108% this year and rose more than 4.2% Friday on the upgrade. CNTA YTD mountain Centessa stock this year. Centessa is developing a pipeline of orexin receptor 2 agonists — which attempt to activate parts of the body involved with regulating sleep and wakefulness in the body. One of the company’s drugs is ORX750 for the treatment of sleep-wake disorders, including narcolepsy type 1 and 2, or NT1 and NT2. The drug also aims to treat idiopathic hypersomnia, or IH. Additionally, Centessa is developing ORX142 for the treatment of excessive daytime sleepiness, or EDS, in certain neurological, neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders. Investor enthusiasm around the stock jumped grew earlier this month after the company announced positive results from its Phase 1 clinical data with ORX750. The drug is designed to increase wakefulness, reduce cataplexy and potentially be a novel treatment for narcolepsy type 1. “Recent topline ORX750 Phase 1 results in healthy volunteers remove the largest overhang on the orexin 2 field and confirm it has potential to be best-in-class for treating narcolepsy,” Hung said. “We see ORX750 as ideally positioned to directly address the underlying orexin deficit in NT1, with potential in NT2 and IH as well.” Given the firm’s view of ORX750 as a now de-risked mechanism for treating narcolepsy, Hung modeled a higher peak market share for the treatment in NT1 by 2036. “Further out, we see additional upside for orexin 2 agonists with expansion into situational disorders like chronic fatigue and shift work,” he added, saying that the firm’s peak risk-adjusted ORX750 revenue expectations increase to $2.2 billion from $840 million.
