ABSI: Needham Maintains 'Buy' Rating, Lowers Target to $8.00

Needham analyst Gil Blum has maintained a "Buy" rating on Absci (ABSI) but lowered the price target from $9.00 to $8.00, reflecting an 11.11% decrease. The average one-year target price for ABSI is $8.49, with a high estimate of $10.00 and a low estimate of $6.40, implying an upside of 185.71% from the current price of $2.97. The average brokerage recommendation is 1.9, indicating "Outperform" status.

Needham analyst Gil Blum has maintained a "Buy" rating on Absci (ABSI) but has lowered the price target from $9.00 to $8.00, reflecting an 11.11% decrease. The average one-year target price for ABSI is $8.49, with a high estimate of $10.00 and a low estimate of $6.40, implying an upside of 185.71% from the current price of $2.97. The average brokerage recommendation is 1.9, indicating "Outperform" status [1].

The adjustment in the price target comes following Absci’s second-quarter 2025 financial results reported on Tuesday. The company reported disappointing earnings, with earnings per share (EPS) at -$0.24 and revenue at $600,000, both falling short of expectations. Despite the earnings miss, the company's stock showed resilience in after-hours trading [2].

Needham noted that initial results for ABS-101 in healthy volunteers remain on track for the second half of 2025. The research firm indicated that a positive readout would provide initial proof of concept for Absci’s broader platform and potentially make ABS-101 an attractive target for large pharmaceutical companies [1].

Absci Corp operates as a data-first generative artificial intelligence (AI) drug creation company in the United States. The company combines AI with scalable wet lab technologies to create biologics for patients. Its integrated drug creation platform is designed to improve upon traditional biologic drug discovery by using AI to simultaneously optimize multiple drug characteristics that may be important to development and therapeutic benefit [3].

The company’s stock has shown resilience despite the recent earnings miss, with institutional investors and hedge funds owning 52.05% of the company's stock. Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock, with Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC, ARK Investment Management LLC, and Two Sigma Investments LP boosting their stakes significantly in the first quarter [2].

Absci Corp has a strong interest from potential partners for its TL1A antibody and bispecific programs, indicating robust external validation. The company raised approximately $64 million in gross proceeds, strengthening its balance sheet and extending its cash runway into the first half of 2028 [3].

Despite the price target reduction, Needham maintained its Buy rating on the biotechnology company’s stock, suggesting that the analyst remains optimistic about the company's long-term prospects. Investors and analysts will be closely monitoring Absci Corp’s performance in the coming quarters to assess its financial health.

References:
[1] https://www.investing.com/news/analyst-ratings/needham-lowers-absci-stock-price-target-to-8-on-recent-dilution-93CH-4188239
[2] https://www.marketbeat.com/instant-alerts/absci-corporation-nasdaqabsi-receives-consensus-recommendation-of-buy-from-brokerages-2025-08-05/
[3] https://finance.yahoo.com/news/absci-corp-absi-q2-2025-071232577.html