Despite posting quarterly revenue that fell short of expectations, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY) saw its shares surge on Tuesday, climbing as much as 6% during the session. The stock closed the day up 5.79%, making it one of the standout performers in the biotech sector. The rally was fueled by a wave of positive analyst commentary, with a new report from Freedom Capital Markets analyst Ilya Zubkov serving as the primary catalyst. Zubkov upgraded his rating on Alnylam from “Hold” to “Buy,” officially throwing his hat into the bullish ring.
While he modestly lowered his price target on the biotech to $410 per share from $470, his conviction in the company’s core business was clear. In his report, Zubkov expressed particular enthusiasm for Alnylam’s heavyweight drug, Amvuttra, used to treat the heart condition transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM). He noted that the drug’s sales performance has been “exceptionally robust” in both domestic and international markets and believes this momentum is poised to continue throughout the year. He did offer a note of caution, however, suggesting that potential pricing pressures could impact the company’s key fundamentals two to three years down the road.
Zubkov wasn’t alone in his optimism. Earlier that same morning, Canaccord Genuity analyst Whitney Ijem raised her price target on Alnylam to $429 per share from $415.
Market observers suggest that investors may have been overly harsh on Alnylam following its latest earnings report. Although the revenue miss was disappointing, the powerful momentum behind Amvuttra is seen as a formidable engine that can drive the company’s growth for the foreseeable future.
Alnylam’s story began in 2002, co-founded by MIT professor Phillip Sharp, among others. This wasn’t Sharp’s first foray into biotech; he was also a co-founder of Biogen (BIIB) back in 1978. The company was established to focus on an innovative technology known as RNA interference (RNAi). This approach works by interfering with messenger RNA (mRNA), preventing it from delivering instructions to cells to produce specific proteins. The discovery of RNAi earned its pioneers the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2006.
Just two years after its founding, Alnylam held its initial public offering (IPO). An investor who bought $10,000 worth of stock at that time and held onto it would now have shares worth approximately $787,000. The majority of this wealth creation has occurred in the last seven years. A pivotal moment came in 2018 when the FDA approved its RNAi therapy, Onpattro, for the treatment of the rare genetic disease hATTR amyloidosis.
Looking ahead, Alnylam’s prospects appear bright. Beyond its current growth engine, Amvuttra, the company boasts two other approved products for rare diseases (Givlaari and Oxlumo). It has also out-licensed its RNAi platform: Leqvio, for hypercholesterolemia, to Novartis (NVS), and Qfitia, for hemophilia, to Sanofi (SNY). Critically, the launch of Amvuttra for the ATTR-CM indication is still in its early stages. Thanks largely to this new use, the drug’s sales skyrocketed by 162% year-over-year in the third quarter of 2025. Furthermore, a potentially more powerful successor, nucresiran, is currently being evaluated in Phase 3 clinical studies for ATTR.
Alnylam’s pipeline is rich with other late-stage programs. The company is partnering with Regeneron (REGN) to develop cemdisiran for rare diseases, with Roche (RHHBY) on the hypertension drug zilebesiran, and with Vir Biotechnology (VIR) on a treatment for hepatitis D.
