Mizuho has opened coverage on Pulse Biosciences (NASDAQ: PLSE) with an Outperform rating and a $25.00 target, a valuation that represents approximately 75% upside from the stock’s prevailing price of $13.62. The firm’s initiation comes as the shares have shown pronounced volatility - InvestingPro data cited a beta of 1.69 - and the stock has declined 9.74% over the last week.
The brokerage’s thesis centers on encouraging feedback from physicians following FDA clearance of Pulse’s nanosecond pulsed field ablation technology, referred to as nsPFA or nPulse. Mizuho expects that clinician acceptance could drive rapid commercial adoption, and that investor sentiment could shift higher if upcoming clinical data meets or exceeds expectations.
A specific catalyst identified by Mizuho is 12-month data from an EU early feasibility study that will be presented as a late-breaking podium presentation at the AF Symposium on February 5-6. The firm has framed its modeling around an 80% rate of freedom from atrial fibrillation at 12 months as its working expectation for that dataset. Should the presented results show a longer efficacy duration versus competing PFA approaches, Mizuho anticipates a potential share re-rating.
The $25 price target reflects a risk-adjusted sum-of-the-parts approach, with $17 per share allocated to the PFA technology, $7 to the company’s remaining portfolio, and $1 attributed to cash on the balance sheet. While Pulse is not yet profitable on a GAAP basis - InvestingPro lists net income at negative $74.73 million - the company’s liquidity metrics appear robust; InvestingPro reports a current ratio of 10.02.
Operationally, Pulse reported third-quarter 2025 results that showed a meaningful revenue increase driven by initial sales of its N-Pulse Capital system and Vibrance disposable products, although the company recorded a GAAP net loss of $19.4 million for the period. Alongside early commercial sales, regulatory and clinical progress continues to advance.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) enabling Pulse to launch the NANOPULSE-AF clinical study, which will test the safety and effectiveness of the nPulse Cardiac Catheter System in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation across multiple sites. Separately, the company announced a collaboration with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to evaluate its nPulse Vybrance Percutaneous Electrode System for thyroid cancer treatment; an IDE for that study has also been approved by the FDA and the trial is slated to begin in early 2026.
Taken together, Mizuho’s initiation frames a pathway in which physician acceptance, early commercial revenue, and favorable 12-month EU feasibility results could materially influence investor valuation. At the same time, the company remains unprofitable on a GAAP basis and recent quarterly results show a sizeable net loss despite increasing sales.
Summary of key developments:
- Mizuho starts coverage on PLSE with Outperform and a $25 target (approximately 75% upside from $13.62).
- Positive physician feedback and FDA clearance underpin expectations for rapid adoption of nsPFA / nPulse technology.
- 12-month EU early feasibility data at the AF Symposium (Feb 5-6) is positioned as a potential re-rating event; Mizuho models 80% freedom from atrial fibrillation at 12 months.
- Q3 2025 saw revenue growth from initial product sales but a GAAP net loss of $19.4 million; company-level net income stands at -$74.73 million with a reported current ratio of 10.02.
- FDA has cleared IDEs for the NANOPULSE-AF study and for a planned MD Anderson trial of nPulse Vybrance in thyroid cancer, with the latter set to start in early 2026.