Biotech has been one of the hottest sectors for investors for as long as it has existed and the reasons are self-evident. It is a sector that uses cutting edge technology and comes up with treatments for a wide range of diseases.
Moreover, the fact that biotech companies often improve on existing treatments, makes them a far more attractive target for a range of investors. Here is a look at three biotech stocks to watch during the last few weeks of the quarter.
PharmaCyte Biotech (PMCB)
There has been no lack of attention on biotech penny stocks this year. At the beginning of August, one small biotech stock broke to highs of over $10 from a starting price below $2 a share after releasing news. PharmaCyte Biotech (PMCB) focuses on ways to effectively deliver treatments to patients with diseases ranging from cancer to diabetes.
The company’s proprietary cellulose-based live-cell encapsulation technology known as “Cell-in-a-Box®is the platform that the company uses to develop its therapy delivery methods. For most of the quarter, shares of PMCB stock have traded between $0.033 and $0.04 with volume recently surging.
On September 19, PharmaCyte saw more than 6 million shares trade; well above its daily average. Most of the attention surrounding the company has been on two things. First, its progress with Cell-In-A-Box and the application for Pancreatic cancer has continued to progress. The company brought on Dr. Manuel Hidalgo, has confirmed that he will be Principal Investigator (PI) for PharmaCyte’s planned clinical trial in locally advanced, inoperable pancreatic cancer (LAPC) now that he is at Weill Cornell Medical Center.
What To Watch For
This week PharmaCyte (PMCB) will host a call designed to update all shareholders and the investment community simultaneously of material developments. The call will cover PharmaCyte’s preparations for submission of its Investigational New Drug application (IND) to the U.S. FDA to treat locally advanced, inoperable pancreatic cancer. It will also cover developments related to PharmaCyte’s product pipeline. PharmaCyte has been working on these and will discuss things not yet reported in a press release.
Catalyst Pharmaceuticals (CPRX)
The first one to watch is Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:CPRX). It is a small-cap stock engaged in developing medicines for rare diseases. Catalyst managed to get an approval for one of its products from the FDA earlier this year.
Since the approval of the Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS treating medicine Firdapse, Catalyst stock went on a massive rally from January to April. The approval of a rival drug halted the rally. Only after a civil suit from Catalyst did the stock stabilize somewhat.
Last week, Catalyst stock received a fresh boost after the company announced that it was going to make a secondary offering. However, the company decided to pull the offering the very next day and that affected the stock price once again.
What To Watch For
Analysts believe that pulling the secondary offering was the right long term decisions and this stock could be heading for another rally soon.
Eyepoint Pharmaceuticals (EYPT)
The biotech stock that could prove to be a major winner in the biotech sector this month is that of Eyepoint Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:EYPT). There are two factors at play. The company revenues are going to rise significantly in the coming years due to the commercial launch of two medicines.
The first one is Yutiq, which is meant for the treatment of chronic non-infectious uveitis and the other one is Dexycu, which is meant for postoperative ocular inflammation.
What To Watch For
The company is currently trading at only double that of its future revenue and that is a very attractive multiple. EYPT stock has caught the attention of analysts on Wall Street. Guggenheim has set a 12-month target price of $4, which reflects 116% gains during the period.
