Maxim Group Starts Evaxion Biotech (EVAX) at Buy

Maxim Group analyst Michael Okunewitch initiates coverage on Evaxion Biotech (NASDAQ: EVAX) with a Buy rating and a price target of $10.00.

The analyst commented: "Evaxion is a TechBio company leveraging its proprietary AI platform built over nearly two decades to develop both therapeutic and prophylactic vaccines against novel discovered targets across cancer, infectious disease, and autoimmune disease. The AI platform enables it to decode diseases and immune response to essentially automate target discovery and selection in as little as 24 hours with costs 10% that ofEvaxion A/S (EVAX) traditional methods. The company is seeking a partnering-based strategy around platform deals and validated assets — we have seen companies like Recursion, Generate, and Absci reach upfront payments in the $10Ms–$100Ms and backend development milestones up to the billions (depending on number of targets). While this can be a challenging strategy for smaller companies, we view Evaxion’s platform as derisked due to an existing partnership finalized in 2H25 with Merck. Notably, Merck has built out an equity position expanding over the prior
three financings to 15% ownership. In our view, having Merck on board could reduce barriers for other potential partners. The company’s lead segment is its oncology platform, which is focused on novel and personalized targets to enhance immune response and durability. Its Phase 2 study in melanoma has already generated compelling efficacy data showing 75% ORR with durability of 2 years in 92% of those patients. Three-year data is approaching in 2H26, which we view as a key catalyst for shares. We also view the company’s infectious disease platform as attractive with its focus on AMR bacteria, a rapidly growing global threat. While infectious disease vaccines do face headwinds, in our view, due to the current focus of the US HHS, the longer-term opportunity both in the US and globally remains significant. Further, we believe the focus on oncology and expansion into autoimmune insulates investors from potential near-term headwinds, while preserving exposure to upside potential. Overall, AI represents a powerful tool in drug discovery and Evaxion’s proprietary models represent a validated approach by both big pharma partnership and strong clinical data, which we believe has remained largely under the radar with investors. Initiating coverage with a Buy rating and a 12-month price target of $10."

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Evaxion Biotech click here. For more ratings news on Evaxion Biotech click here.

Shares of Evaxion Biotech closed at $3.32 yesterday.

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