Biotech companies have been in focus in the markets over the past weeks, and many of these stocks have managed to deliver substantial gains to its investors. The latest to enter that fray is the Five Prime Therapeutics (NASDAQ: FPRX).
Wedbush upgraded the Stock
The biotech company saw its shares surge on Monday after the stock got an upgrade from the firm Wedbush. The stock was upgraded to outperform from neutral, and on top of that, the target price was raised as well. Wedbush raised the target price for the Five Prime to $9 a share from $5 a share.
The company is involved in the development and discovery of protein-based therapeutics for a wide range of diseases. Five Prime is working on products for which therapies are still not present in the market, and on top of that, the company fully committed to widening its internal product pipeline considerably. It also wants to retain the rights for those products in certain markets.
After the news about the upgrade came through, the stock started rallying on Monday, and it soared by as much as 20.53% to hit $5.30 a share. Five Prime currently has a 52 week high of $6.54 a share.
Back in May, the company had announced its financial results for the 1st fiscal quarter of the year, and the performance was solid. Revenues for the quarter soared to as much as $8.1 million, which reflects a rise of 58% from the prior-year period. The revenue boost came about due to the collaboration with Zai Lab and the money earned from the license agreement with Seattle Genetics.
As of March 31, the company’s cash and cash equivalents stood at $142.7 million, and that reflects a considerable fall from the $157.9 million it had a cash balance on December 31, 2019. That was primarily due to the higher quarterly expenses.
