New York, Feb 24, 2026, 08:42 EST — Premarket
- STOK slipped roughly 1.2% in early premarket action, giving back a slice of the 5.7% surge it logged the session before.
- Wolfe Research started coverage, assigning an Outperform and setting the price target at $40.
- Attention is turning to the upcoming trial milestones in Stoke’s Dravet syndrome program with Biogen.
Stoke Therapeutics shares slipped 1.2% to $35.80 in early premarket moves Tuesday, following a 5.7% jump to $36.23 at Monday’s close. Wolfe Research kicked off its coverage with an “Outperform” and tagged a $40 price target. The stock remains below its 52-week peak of $38.69, while roughly 21.6% of the float is sold short, according to MarketBeat. MarketBeat
U.S. stock index futures leveled off following Monday’s sharp drop, as traders navigated tariff questions and fresh doubts over hefty AI investments. In this backdrop, thinly traded biotech stocks are quick to swing.
On Wall Street, an “Outperform” call signals bets that a stock will top its rivals or the wider market. Wolfe’s price target of $40 implies about a 10% gain from Monday’s close — hardly a huge leap, but just enough to keep eyes on a name that’s already been on the move.
Stoke, headquartered in Bedford, Massachusetts, is working on zorevunersen for Dravet syndrome—a rare, severe epilepsy—in a Phase 3 trial with Biogen. Back in January, the company said it anticipated wrapping up enrollment of 150 patients in its EMPEROR Phase 3 trial during Q2 2026. That timeline positions the study for a data readout by mid-2027, with plans to kick off a rolling U.S. New Drug Application in the first half of that year. CEO Ian F. Smith described the enrollment rate as “highly encouraging,” but pointed out that talks with the FDA were ongoing after a recent multidisciplinary meeting. BioSpace
Stoke has kicked off a Phase 1 dose-escalation trial for STK-002 in autosomal dominant optic atrophy, a rare disorder that leads to worsening vision. According to the company, the OSPREY study’s initial focus is on safety and tolerability, with later analysis zeroing in on visual function and other clinical markers.
Both programs rely on antisense oligonucleotides, short synthetic strands meant to alter a cell’s processing of genetic messages. It’s a potent drug class, but one often tripped up by clinical and regulatory challenges.
Here’s the rub for clinical-stage biotechs: no products on the market yet, and trial timelines remain at the mercy of patient recruitment, safety hiccups, or anything the regulators toss back. Any hiccup in that late-stage epilepsy trial could slam the stock—short interest is already high, and the market’s nerves are showing.
On Tuesday, attention shifts to whether the stock can keep Monday’s gains through the open, and if the new analyst coverage draws fresh interest from peers. The next clear milestone: an update on EMPEROR enrollment. Stoke still aims to wrap that up in the second quarter of 2026.
