The seeds are sown and the green shoots are emerging for Aptamer Group PLC (AIM:APTA), the developer of nucleic acid-based binders used in life sciences.
That, at least, is the conclusion of the Liberum, the company’s corporate broker in the wake of first-half figures earlier on Tuesday.
“Aptamer’s interim results were in line with sales expectations set at January’s trading update. Interims highlight strong operational progress and the seeds have been sown building the pipeline and there are green shoots of growth,” Liberum said in a note to clients.
“However, while management is confident of meeting expectations, with the timing of sales heavily [fourth-quarter] weighted, we have prudently reduced our [full-year] revenue expectations.
“In our view, continued growth in the customer base, pipeline conversion and data generation will be the key drivers of growth, and should in time deliver what investors are looking for, being a material licence agreement.”
While Liberum tweaked its price target 10p lower to 180p, this still represents a healthy premium to the current price of 33.68p.
“We remain buyers and see plenty of value in the platform, albeit the timing is hard to predict,” Liberum added.