NEW YORK, May 28, 2026, 04:15 EDT
• Piper Sandler launched coverage on LeonaBio with an overweight rating and a $20 price target. Analyst Kelsey Goodwin is the lead on the name.
• LeonaBio said it’s set to present ATH-1105 for ALS on June 3, and will join a trials panel in oncology on June 24.
• Shares last traded at $9.81, up 1.45%, on volume a little above 51,000.
Piper Sandler started coverage on LeonaBio Inc. with an overweight rating and a $20 target, giving the Nasdaq-listed biotech a new boost this week. The call comes ahead of LeonaBio’s scheduled medical-meeting appearances in June.
LeonaBio’s rebrand has changed how investors look at the company. It’s not just the old Athira Pharma now. Traders are watching two programs: lasofoxifene, aimed at some metastatic breast cancer patients, and ATH-1105, which targets ALS, a deadly nerve condition.
The stock traded at $9.81, up 1.45% in recent action. Piper Sandler started coverage on May 27, according to Finviz, with a consensus target of $18. Shares are still thin and can swing sharply.
LeonaBio said Wednesday it will take part in the 5th Annual ALS Drug Development Summit in Boston. Chief Medical Officer Javier San Martin is set to present “Advancing ATH-1105 in ALS: Strategic Trial Design, Biomarker Integration & Adaptive Methodologies” on June 3. LeonaBio also said that Sermonix CEO David Portman, who consults for LeonaBio on oncology, will join a June 24 BIO International Convention panel about oncology trial design. BioSpace
LeonaBio is trying to keep the focus on its clinical progress as it faces a long stretch before key results. The company said enrollment for the Phase 3 ELAINE-3 trial of lasofoxifene should wrap up in the fourth quarter of 2026, with topline data expected in the second half of 2027. Phase 3 studies are late-stage trials designed to back possible regulatory approval.
LeonaBio CEO Mark Litton said earlier this month the company is keeping a “clear focus on disciplined execution across our portfolio,” with lasofoxifene leading in ELAINE-3. LeonaBio also said it expects to start dosing ALS patients with ATH-1105 in a Phase 2 proof-of-concept study in the second half of 2026. Proof-of-concept refers to an early patient study to see if a drug’s effect is plausible enough for more testing. LeonaBio
Piper Sandler jumped in after a wave of analysts started looking at LeonaBio. Kelsey Goodwin at Piper kicked off coverage with an overweight, according to Benzinga’s rating table. That’s Wall Street code for expecting the stock to outperform peers or its benchmark.
U.S. FDA cleared Pfizer and Arvinas’ Veppanu for adults with advanced estrogen receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer with ESR1 mutations after hormone therapy, putting new pressure on rivals. Wedbush analyst Robert Driscoll told Reuters Veppanu’s efficacy looks competitive, but said comparing across trials isn’t straightforward.
AstraZeneca is moving ahead in the same area. On May 27, Reuters said the FDA pushed back its review of AstraZeneca’s experimental breast cancer drug camizestrant to look at more data. An advisory committee had flagged issues with trial design—not with safety or how well the medicine works.
The set treatment landscape already features elacestrant, marketed as Orserdu by Stemline. The FDA cleared the drug in 2023 for postmenopausal women or adult men with ER-positive, HER2-negative, ESR1-mutated advanced or metastatic breast cancer after at least one failed round of endocrine therapy. Endocrine therapy, which slows tumors reliant on estrogen with hormones or blockers, is standard for these patients.
LeonaBio’s path depends on showing results in patients instead of on paper. ELAINE-3 could enroll slower than forecast, and the trial might not hit the progression-free survival target. Competing breast-cancer drugs might move ahead before LeonaBio releases important data. ALS is another hurdle—starting a Phase 2 study is just a first step, and past ALS research has often looked good in theory but failed in real patients.
U.S. equity markets open for trading on Thursday. Nasdaq’s 2026 holiday calendar shows Memorial Day, May 25, as a market holiday and the next closure set for Juneteenth on June 19.
