iBio Started With a Buy Rating at Chardan Capital

Chardan Capital Markets analysts initiated coverage on iBio (NYSE:IBIO) with a Buy rating and a price target of $5, noting they see significant potential in iBio's proprietary AI-guided drug discovery platform, which aims to create next-generation engineered antibodies for challenging targets while reducing development risks.

This marks a strategic shift for iBio, which acquired RubrYc Therapeutics in September 2022 for its AI-driven drug discovery capabilities and decided to divest its CDMO facility in November 2022, resulting in a workforce reduction of about 60%. iBio's recent partnership with AstralBio focuses on developing novel antibodies to treat obesity and other cardiometabolic conditions.

The analysts believe iBio has evolved into an intriguing micro-cap investment opportunity, suitable for investors with a longer-term perspective who are willing to balance the company's need to raise additional capital (expected in the first half of 2025) before any human clinical data is available. The core technology behind iBio's platform combines precision medicine biology with machine learning and AI.