Benzinga - by Shanthi Rexaline, Benzinga Editor.
Biotech stocks are high-risk, high-return opportunities that are under the mercy of several make-or-break catalysts, most of which are binary events. It pays to remain cognizant of the timing of these catalysts and which way they will likely pan out.
Benzinga brings to investors a weekly feature focusing on five key catalysts that could impact the stock prices of the respective companies in an appreciable manner.
1. Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARWR)
- Date: Tuesday, June 25
- Catalyst: Discussion of Phase 3 PALISADE study of investigational plozasiran in patients with genetically confirmed or clinically diagnosed familial chylomicronemia syndrome
The company expects to file an NDA for plozasiran in FCS around year-end, with a potential launch in 2025.
Arrowhead ended Friday’s session up 7.19% at $25.50, according to Benzinga Pro data. Chardan has a Buy rating on Arrowhead and a $60 price target: “We expect 2024 to be a data rich year for Arrowhead,” said Chardan analyst Keay Nakae in a June 3 note.
“We believe that at the current price, the balance of risk/reward is highly favorable for the stock going forward,” he said.
2. Intellia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTLA)
- Date: Tuesday, June 25
- Catalyst: redosing data from the Phase 1 study of NTLA-2001, which is based on CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technology,
The stock added 0.74% on Friday before closing at $24.22.
3. Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)
- Date: Wednesday, June 26
- Catalyst: PDUFA date for antibody-drug conjugate patritumab deruxtecan as a treatment option for a certain type of non-small cell lung cancer.
Lung cancer is the second most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, with non-small cell lung cancers accounting for approximately 85% of all lung cancers. EGFR mutations occur in 14%-38% of all NSCLC tumors worldwide.
Patritumab deruxtecan is one of the three drugs Merck acquired from Japan’s Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited (OTC:DSKYF) last year.
Merck settled Friday’s session 0.81% higher at $130.72.
4. Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)
- Date: Wednesday, June 26
- Catalyst: PDUFA date for ensifentrine that is being evaluated as maintenance treatment of patients with Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Verona added 2.11% on Friday and ended at $15.
5. X4 Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:XFOR)
- Date: Thursday, June 27 (8 a.m. EDT)
- Catalyst: new interim Phase 2 data for mavorixafor in severe congenital neutropenia, which results from very low levels of neutrophils – a type of white blood cells that are used to treat several infections, especially bacterial.
The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (NYSE:XBI), an exchange-traded fund that tracks the S&P Biotechnology Select Industry Index, ended Friday at $92.38, up 2.77%. For the year, the EFF has gained 3.46%, underperforming the broader S&P 500 Index.
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