Forget GLP-1 stocks, baldness drugs are Wall Street's next goldmine. Drugmakers found a promising cure for the obesity epidemic and their stocks were rewarded for it. Now, investors are salivating over a new crop of companies tackling a more purely aesthetic problem: baldness. Pattern hair loss affects an estimated 50 million men and 30 million women in the US, but there have been no new approved drugs since the late 1990s. The promise of novel treatments has sent shares of Veradermics Inc., which trades as "MANE," up nearly 500% since the company went public in February, while Absci Corp.'s stock has more than doubled so far in 2026. Cosmo NV also had positive results for an experimental male hair-loss treatment, though its Zurich-listed shares have been weighed down by the success of US competitors. Those who are ineligible for hair transplant surgery - or can't afford it - are left with two main options: over-the-counter topical minoxidil, the active ingredient in Rogaine, or prescription finasteride, branded as Propecia. They can come with some debilitating side effects; minoxidil is linked to heart palpitations while finasteride is known to lower sex drive. Wall Street sees new treatments as an untapped goldmine, full of consumers who are willing to pay out-of-pocket for better options, reminiscent of the boom in GLP-1 weight-loss drugs. "People will fly all the way to Turkey to have some hair moved around on their head," said Needham analyst Gil Blum, who rates Absci a buy. "Can you imagine if you could do that without getting a hair transplant?" Drugmakers and investors alike are hoping for a repeat of the successes of the weight-loss drugs that vaulted Eli Lilly & Co.'s market value across the $1 trillion threshold and made Novo Nordisk A/S, briefly, the most valuable company in Europe. One of the closest to market is Cosmo's topical medicine, clascoterone, which targets the root cause of male-pattern hair loss by blocking a hormone that causes it directly at the hair follicle. The company says the treatment could be the "single biggest opportunity" in its portfolio and plans to submit a new drug application to US regulators in the first quarter of 2027. Clascoterone 5% topical solution leverages the same active ingredient used in Winlevi, Cosmo's acne treatment product. While new medicines are likely more than a year away from hitting US shelves, analysts expect Cosmo shares to nearly double over the next 12 months. Jefferies analysts estimate sales for Cosmo's male hair-loss therapy reaching $3 billion globally, "assuming a capable commercial partner is successfully found." The brokerage said the company may find a partner before the year is over, which could help bolster the share price. Like obesity drugs, there's room for more than one winner. Analysts tracked by Bloomberg are universally bullish on both Cosmo and Veradermics. "This space definitely can accommodate multiple drugs," said Jefferies analyst Roger Song, who holds the Street's highest price target on Veradermics. "Many hair loss patients tend to use multiple drugs, either prescription or over-the-counter - as long as they can afford it - because it's a cash-pay market." Veradermics announced positive results for its lead candidate, a tablet formulation of minoxidil, in male-pattern hair loss in April. The company also reported promising mid-stage data for women with thinning hair in July. If it's able to win a nod from the Food and Drug Administration, the drug could become the first approved pill for female-pattern hair loss. Absci, meanwhile, is developing its early-stage drug candidate ABS-201, an AI-designed shot to treat pattern hair loss. The firm expects interim data in the second half of this year. "Both obesity and hair loss are large consumer markets and that's one reason why both of those categories can offer significant revenue potential," OrbiMed's Geoff Hsu, portfolio manager of the Biotech Growth Trust Plc, said in an interview. "If you do find a safe and efficacious drug for hair loss, that would unlock a significant addressable market." Of course, drug development is high risk, with the potential for big returns counterbalanced by the products and companies that flop. Before GLP-1s won over insurers and consumers alike, a whole generation of obesity drugs failed to reach blockbuster status; some instead went to bankruptcy court. There's also a major difference with weight-loss drugs: going bald is not a health crisis. GLP-1s, as a weapon in the battle against obesity, were able to secure insurance coverage while also attracting consumers primarily interested in meeting modern beauty standards. Hair-loss drugs are likely to remain out-of-pocket expenses for consumers, but many in the industry remain upbeat on future sales. "If you can make it easier on the patient - that is pain-free and simple like taking a pill - I think it opens a whole new avenue of potential patients to treat," said Ryan Isherwood, who with his wife owns three Gameday Men's Health clinics in Wisconsin. Despite high-flying valuations and the risk of failure, analysts remain upbeat on room for future gains. "This is a zero or hero story. I would buy it now because it's still cheap," Needham's Blum said of Absci.

Absci (NASDAQ:ABSI) shares down 7.8% - should you Sell? August 24, 2026 Key points. * Absci shares fell 7.8% to about $8.80, with trading volume roughly 80% below its average. The company has a $1.52 billion market capitalization and a high beta of 2.35, indicating significant volatility. * Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive despite the decline: eight analysts rate the stock a Buy and one rates it a Sell, producing a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating and an average price target of $13.43. * Absci's latest quarterly results missed expectations, with a loss of $0.21 per share versus the $0.19 consensus and revenue of $0.32 million versus $0.92 million expected. Analysts forecast a full-year loss of approximately $0.74 per share. * Interested in Absci? Here are five stocks we like better. Absci Corporation (NASDAQ:ABSI - Get Free Report) traded down 7.8% on Monday. The stock traded as low as $8.75 and last traded at $8.8030. Approximately 870,642 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 4,435,745 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.55. Wall Street Analyst weigh in. ABSI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Absci in a research note on Friday, July 17th. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on Absci from $8.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Absci from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Absci from $11.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated a "positive" rating and issued a $10.00 price target on shares of Absci in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $13.43. Absci trading down 7.1%. The company has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a PE ratio of -11.06 and a beta of 2.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $9.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.74. Absci (NASDAQ:ABSI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.21) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.19) by ($0.02). Absci had a negative net margin of 7,756.38% and a negative return on equity of 61.71%. The company had revenue of $0.32 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $0.92 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Absci Corporation will post -0.74 EPS for the current year. Hedge funds weigh in on Absci. Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Absci during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Essential Partners LLC raised its holdings in Absci by 113,850.0% in the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 9,116 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 9,108 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Absci by 91.2% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,287 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 5,385 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Absci by 45.9% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 11,690 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 3,678 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Absci in the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.05% of the company's stock. About Absci. Absci Corporation NASDAQ: ABSI is a biotechnology company that applies machine learning, synthetic biology and automation to accelerate the discovery and development of protein-based therapeutics. The company's Integrated Drug Creation(R)(IDC(R) platform is designed to identify and produce novel antibody and enzyme candidates at speeds and scales that traditional biopharma discovery methods cannot match. Absci works with pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners to generate, screen and optimize protein molecules for a wide range of therapeutic applications. Discover more Dividend Screener Tool The core of Absci's offering is its end-to-end discovery engine, which combines proprietary algorithms, high-throughput laboratory automation and a deep learning framework. This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected]. Continue following MarketBeat Before you consider Absci, you'll want to hear this. MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Absci wasn't on the list. While Absci currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. The AI boom is creating opportunities across semiconductors, cloud computing, enterprise software, infrastructure, cybersecurity, and automation. Inside this report, you'll find 10 companies positioned to benefit as artificial intelligence moves from hype to real-world deployment and becomes a core growth driver for corporate America.

Absci reported positive interim Phase 1 data for its ABS-201 programme, showing favourable safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics. The biotechnology company recently completed a $100 million funding round led by Eli Lilly. Shares have risen sharply, with a 30-day return of 11.54% and 90-day gain of 81.96%. The one-year total shareholder return stands at 262.50%. The most followed valuation narrative suggests Absci is 32.6% undervalued, with fair value estimated at $13.78 versus the last close of $9.28. The company has shifted capital allocation away from ABS-101 towards ABS-201 and maintains a cash runway into the first half of 2028. However, the investment case remains dependent on early-stage clinical data from a single lead asset, leaving it vulnerable to trial setbacks or delays.