Alumis Inc. (ALMS) is having a moment. The clinical-stage biotech just pulled off a $300 million stock offering, and analysts are falling over themselves to raise price targets in response.
Here's what happened: Alumis priced 17.65 million common shares at $17 apiece. After you subtract the underwriting fees, the company should net around $300 million to fund development of its precision medicines targeting immune-driven disorders.
Wall Street Gets Bullish
The analyst action tells an interesting story. Guggenheim's Yatin Suneja kept his Buy rating but cranked the price target from $18 to $32. That's not a tweak, that's a statement.
Morgan Stanley's Terence Flynn matched that enthusiasm, maintaining an Overweight rating while lifting his target from $22 to $33. When two major firms independently decide to raise targets by roughly 50%, it's worth paying attention.
Following the Money
The offering details reveal solid institutional interest. The deal size expanded beyond initial expectations, which typically means demand exceeded supply. When that happens, companies can push for larger raises without tanking the price.
Morgan Stanley and Leerink Partners led the bookrunning team, with Cantor and Wells Fargo Securities joining as managers. The underwriters also grabbed a 30-day option to purchase an additional 2.65 million shares, which could push total proceeds even higher if exercised.
The company expects everything to wrap up by January 9, assuming standard settlement conditions fall into place.
For context, ALMS stock has climbed over 133% in the past year. Shares traded up 0.56% at $18.02 during Thursday's premarket session.
Investors looking for exposure to clinical-stage biotech can access Alumis through the Virtus LifeSci Biotech Clinical Trials ETF (BBC).