Biotech Alert: Searches spiking for these stocks today

These names in the biotech sector are seeing a substantial increase in search activity today, as determined by InvestingChannel. They include: 

• Tracon Pharmaceuticals (TCON), 555% surge in interest
• Adaptive Biotechnologies (ADPT), 227% surge in interest

Pipeline and key clinical candidates for these companies:

Tracon is advancing a pipeline of novel targeted cancer therapeutics and seeks to partner with other life science companies. The company’s clinical-stage pipeline includes: Envafolimab, a PD-L1 single-domain antibody given by rapid subcutaneous injection that is being studied in the pivotal ENVASARC trial for sarcoma; YH001, a potential best-in-class CTLA-4 antibody in Phase 1 development; TRC102, a Phase 2 small molecule drug candidate for the treatment of lung cancer; and TJ004309, a CD73 antibody in Phase 1 development for the treatment of advanced solid tumors. Tracon has said it believes it “can serve as a solution for companies without clinical and commercial capabilities in the United States or who wish to become CRO-independent.”

Adaptive Biotechnologies is a commercial-stage biotechnology company that applies its platform to partner with biopharmaceutical companies, inform drug development, and develop clinical diagnostics across its two business areas of Minimal Residual Disease and Immune Medicine. The company says its commercial products and clinical pipeline enable the diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment of diseases such as cancer, autoimmune disorders, and infectious diseases and states that its goal is “to develop and commercialize immune-driven clinical products tailored to each individual patient.”

Recent news on these stocks:

November 10

BTIG lowered the firm’s price target on Adaptive Biotechnologies to $7 from $11 and kept a Buy rating on the shares. The key highlight coming out of the earnings call is that the company suspended revenue guidance for its Immune Medicine – IM – business, which previously called for a 2023 revenue guide of $92M-97M, though the management has also separately indicated that Immune Medicine is not likely to go to zero so revenue from IM can be viewed as “upside”, the analyst told investors in a research note.

JPMorgan lowered the firm’s price target on Adaptive Biotechnologies to $11 from $12 and kept an Overweight rating on the shares post the Q3 report. The analyst acknowledged the “noisy quarter” but remains encouraged by the continued progress on ClonoSeq.

November 9

Tracon Pharmaceuticals reported Q3 EPS of 29c, consensus (10c). “We are on track to complete enrollment of 80 patients treated with single agent envafolimab in the ongoing pivotal ENVASARC trial this year. The data monitoring committee recommended the study continue as planned in September based on a review of 46 patients and since then more than 20 additional patients have enrolled. We expect to report updated response rate data before the end of the year, with final data anticipated mid-2024,” said Charles Theuer, Tracon’s CEO. “We also expect to license our Product Development Platform to one or more companies this year to allow them to transform their clinical operations.”

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About “Biotech Alert”

The Fly will report on a selection of biotech stocks seeing a surge in interest from retail and financial professional investors, based on data from InvestingChannel.

This Fly exclusive recap reveals the biotech stocks that are seeing a spike in searches among the 20-plus million retail and financial professional investors through InvestingChannel’s online financial news media ecosystem.

This increased attention from the investors may be in response to, or advance of, outsized moves for stocks in the biotech sector, which tend to be volatile and prone to sharp swings in share price around binary events such as clinical study results and FDA approvals.