Monte Rosa Therapeutics Inc (GLUE): ZEUS Didn't Break the Inflammation Thesis; MRT-8102 Offers a Different Angle - Assume at Buy

We assume coverage of Monte Rosa Therapeutics (GLUE) with a Buy rating and $19 PT. We are positive on MRT-8102, a first-in-class oral NEK7 protein degrader in development for chronic inflammatory diseases that we believe is differentiated versus both IL-6 antibodies and NLRP3 inhibitors. Phase 1 data look competitive, though differentiation versus competing approaches will ultimately need to be confirmed in larger clinical datasets. We expect investor appreciation of the atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) opportunity and MRT-8102's differentiated profile to increase over the next 12 months. We see two key drivers: growing recognition that cardiovascular inflammation strategies may require targeting more upstream pathways, and clinical progress from GLUE's ongoing Phase 2 coronary artery disease (CAD) program. Our MRT-8102 '35E adjusted forecasts are meaningfully above consensus (UBSe $900M vs cons. $420M), based on our higher POS in CAD (UBSe 30% vs cons. implied ~15%). Inv