AXSM Jumps 6% As Mizuho Calls Auvelity’s Alzheimer’s Launch A ‘Strong Start’

• First approved in 2022 as an oral treatment for major depression in adults, Auvelity won a second U.S. clearance in April 2026 for agitation linked to Alzheimer’s dementia.
• Management has said peak annual sales for Auvelity could reach $8 billion, split roughly evenly between depression and Alzheimer’s agitation.
• COO Mark Jacobson recently highlighted that Auvelity has no boxed warning for higher death risk in people with dementia, a label that limits the only other approved branded option.

Shares of Axsome Therapeutics (AXSM) rose 6% on Friday after Mizuho analyst Graig Suvannavejh said August prescription data pointed to a strong start for the drug’s newest use.

Citing Bloomberg Symphony figures for the 30-milligram starter dose used when doctors begin treatment, he said new prescriptions rose 32% from July, and total prescriptions rose 34%. The stock is now on track to clock its best day since late July, if gains hold.

“While still early days in the launch, this appears highly indicative of a strong start for Auvelity in ADA,” he wrote. Suvannavejh rates the stock ‘Outperform’ with a $316 price target, implying a potential upside of about 50% from the stock’s last closing price.

Why The New Use Matters

Auvelity is Axsome’s main product. First approved in 2022 as an oral treatment for major depression in adults, it won a second U.S. clearance in April 2026 for agitation linked to Alzheimer’s dementia — the first non-antipsychotic approved for that condition. Axsome began selling into the new indication in June.

The Alzheimer’s launch is central to the company’s finances. Auvelity generated $180.3 million in second-quarter sales, up 51% from a year earlier, and made up most of Axsome’s $218.4 million in product revenue. Management has said peak annual sales could reach $8 billion, split roughly evenly between depression and Alzheimer’s agitation.

Axsome also sells Sunosi for excessive daytime sleepiness tied to narcolepsy or sleep apnea, and Symbravo for acute migraine. Both add sales but remain far smaller than Auvelity.

What Management Is Seeing

At Cantor Fitzgerald’s conference on Thursday, executives said early doctor feedback matches the trial data: agitation eases quickly, and the drug is well tolerated in a frail group.

COO Mark Jacobson highlighted that Auvelity has no boxed warning for higher death risk in people with dementia, a label that limits the only other approved branded option, an antipsychotic. That difference, he said, is already generating interest, with the commercial impact expected to build through year-end.

CFO Nick Pizzie said new prescriptions for patients 65 and older rose 126% after the Alzheimer’s launch. That older Medicare group was about 19% of new starts before approval and is now more than 30%. Most early use is coming from community doctors; nursing homes take longer to bring online, he added.

What Investors Will Watch Next

The next test for AXSM is whether the August jump in starter doses turns into ongoing use of the full maintenance dose and shows up in third-quarter results, expected in early November. Later this year, Axsome is also due to report late-stage data on solriamfetol — Sunosi’s active ingredient — in binge-eating disorder. It has also started a late-stage study of Auvelity’s compound as a smoking-cessation treatment. A separate narcolepsy candidate, AXS-12, has an FDA decision date of May 1, 2027.

How Did AXSM Retail Traders React?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around AXSM stock jumped from ‘neutral’ to ‘bullish’ over the past 24 hours, while message volume rose from ‘normal’ to ‘high’ levels.

AXSM stock has gained 22% year-to-date. 

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