Interactive Brokers shares jump as it secures spot in S&P 500
On Friday, H.C. Wainwright maintained a Buy rating and a $10.00 price target on shares of Purple Biotech Ltd. (NASDAQ: PPBT). The firm's stance follows a virtual KOL event held by Purple Biotech to discuss interim results from a Phase 2 study on a treatment for pancreatic cancer.
The study compares CM24 in combination with nivolumab and standard-of-care (SOC) chemotherapy versus SOC chemotherapy alone for second-line pancreatic cancer treatment.
The interim results, initially presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting in June 2024, focused on a cohort treated with Nal-IRI/5FU/LV. This cohort included 16 patients in the experimental arm and 15 in the control group.
Despite a seemingly worse prognosis at baseline for the experimental arm, with a higher percentage of patients over 65 and a lower rate of response to prior treatments, the CM24 experimental arm demonstrated greater efficacy across all evaluated endpoints.
The study noted a higher rate of Grade 3 or higher treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) in the experimental arm, with increased instances of diarrhea and fatigue. However, no concerning adverse events were observed, and the therapy was generally well-tolerated. Key opinion leaders (KOLs) participating in the event concurred that the patient cohort size was too small to fully assess the efficacy signal and expressed a desire to see more patients enrolled.
The primary endpoint for the ongoing study is overall survival (OS), which is also the endpoint that could lead to approval. Given the study's design is not meant for hypothesis testing, further enrollment in the current study is anticipated before a potential Phase 3 study initiation. H.C. Wainwright's reiteration of the Buy rating and price target reflects the firm's outlook on the stock's potential.
In other recent news, Purple Biotech Ltd. reported significant findings from a Phase 2 study on metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) treatment. The study demonstrated that the company's CM24, in combination with nivolumab and standard chemotherapy, may improve survival outcomes.
The CM24 treatment arm saw a 26% reduction in the risk of death and a 28% reduction in the risk of disease progression or death. Moreover, the overall survival was extended by 2.1 months and progression-free survival by 1.9 months compared to the control group.
Purple Biotech also revealed that patients with serum MPO levels below the mean experienced a 3.6 months median overall survival improvement. Over 90% of patients showed enhanced MPO levels, indicating its potential as a predictive biomarker for CM24-nivolumab therapy. These recent developments highlight the potential effectiveness of the CM24-nivolumab combination therapy in treating PDAC.
In the wake of these findings, Jones Trading adjusted the outlook for Purple Biotech. The firm set a new price target for the company's shares at $3.00, down from the previous target of $8.00, while maintaining a Buy rating.
Jones Trading expressed concerns over the risks tied to future data readouts, leading to the adjustment of the probability of success for CM24 from 35% to 20%.
InvestingPro Insights
As Purple Biotech Ltd. (NASDAQ: PPBT) continues its clinical trials, investors are closely monitoring the company's financial health and market performance. According to InvestingPro data, Purple Biotech has a market capitalization of approximately $12.71 million USD. The company's price-to-book ratio as of the last twelve months leading up to Q1 2024 stands at 0.41, which may suggest that the stock is potentially undervalued relative to its assets. However, the financials also show a negative gross profit of $0.2 million USD in the same timeframe, reflecting challenges in profitability.
InvestingPro Tips highlight that Purple Biotech holds more cash than debt on its balance sheet, which is a positive sign for financial stability. On the flip side, the company is rapidly depleting its cash reserves and has weak gross profit margins. Analysts are not optimistic about the company's profitability in the near term, and the stock's performance has been on a downtrend with a -70.37% price total return over the past year. Additionally, Purple Biotech does not pay dividends, which might be a consideration for income-focused investors.
For those looking to delve deeper into Purple Biotech's financials and stock performance, InvestingPro offers a comprehensive suite of tools and additional tips to aid in making informed investment decisions. There are a total of 9 additional InvestingPro Tips available for Purple Biotech, which can be accessed at: https://www.investing.com/pro/PPBT. To enhance your experience, use the coupon code PRONEWS24 to get up to 10% off a yearly Pro and a yearly or biyearly Pro+ subscription.
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