Berenberg raises target price on AstraZeneca

Analysts at Berenberg raised their target price on AstraZeneca shares from £100 to £120 on Tuesday, stating the stock was now "hot to trop".

Berenberg noted that AstraZeneca was doubling down on investment in antibody-drug conjugates for cancer treatment. Alongside radiation and surgery, chemotherapy has been established as the backbone of cancer treatment for many years and enables cure in early-stage disease, said Berenberg. However, it added that if ADC development is successful, the traditional chemotherapy market could be "significantly upgraded" to novel, targeted ADC chemotherapy.

The German bank noted that based on the number of late-stage patients eligible for approved chemotherapy today, it estimates a "blue-sky market potential" for ADCs of over $60.0bn, with AstraZeneca poised to "dominate" this market with its ADC assets Enhertu, Dato-DXd and AZD8205 - its first internally developed ADC).

"Based on our analysis of Dato-DXd and ADC market potential, we raise our price target for AstraZeneca to £120 (from £100)," said Berenberg, which also reiterated its 'buy' rating on the stock.