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: 

• Vaxcyte (PCVX), 436% surge in interest
• Maravai LifeSciences (MRVI), 398% surge in interest
• Skye Bioscience (SKYE), 397% surge in interest
• Cognition Therapeutics (CGTX), 359% surge in interest
• Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (MDGL), 332% surge in interest
• Arbutus Biopharma (ABUS), 294% surge in interest
• Geron (GERN), 273% surge in interest
• Psyence Biomedical (PBM), 265% surge in interest
• ImmunoPrecise Antibodies (IPA), 256% surge in interest
• iBio (IBIO), 237% surge in interest
• Jazz Pharmaceuticals (JAZZ), 231% surge in interest

Pipeline and key clinical candidates for these companies:

Vaxcyte is a vaccine innovation company engineering high-fidelity vaccines to protect humankind from the consequences of bacterial diseases. The company is developing broad-spectrum conjugate and novel protein vaccines to prevent or treat bacterial infectious diseases. 

Maravai is a leading life sciences company providing critical products to enable the development of drug therapies, diagnostics and novel vaccines. Maravai’s companies are leaders in providing products and services in the fields of nucleic acid synthesis and biologics safety testing to many of the world’s leading biopharmaceutical, vaccine, diagnostics, and cell and gene therapy companies.

Skye is focused on unlocking new therapeutic pathways for metabolic health through the development of next-generation molecules that modulate G-protein coupled receptors. Skye’s strategy leverages biologic targets with substantial human proof of mechanism for the development of first-in-class therapeutics with clinical and commercial differentiation. Skye is conducting a Phase 2 clinical trial in obesity for nimacimab, a negative allosteric modulating antibody that peripherally inhibits CB1. This study is also assessing the combination of nimacimab and a GLP-1R agonist.

Cognition Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company discovering and developing innovative, small molecule therapeutics targeting age-related degenerative disorders of the central nervous system. We are currently investigating our lead candidate, zervimesine, in clinical programs in dementia with Lewy bodies and Alzheimer’s disease, including the ongoing START study in early Alzheimer’s disease. We believe zervimesine can regulate pathways that are impaired in these diseases though its interaction with the sigma-2 receptor, a mechanism that is functionally distinct from other approaches for the treatment of degenerative diseases.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company focused on delivering novel therapeutics for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, a liver disease with high unmet medical need. Madrigal’s medication, Rezdiffra, is a once-daily, oral, liver-directed THR-β agonist designed to target key underlying causes of MASH. Rezdiffra is the first and only medication approved by the FDA for the treatment of MASH with moderate to advanced fibrosis. An ongoing Phase 3 outcomes trial is evaluating Rezdiffra for the treatment of compensated MASH cirrhosis. 

Arbutus Biopharma is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on infectious disease. The company is currently developing imdusiran for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B. Through its ownership stake in and license agreement with Genevant, Arbutus is also focused on maximizing opportunity for its in-house developed Lipid Nanoparticle delivery technology. 

Geron is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company aiming to change lives by changing the course of blood cancer. Its first-in-class telomerase inhibitor RYTELO is approved in the United States for the treatment of certain adult patients with lower-risk myelodysplastic syndromes with transfusion dependent anemia. The company is also conducting a pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial of imetelstat in JAK-inhibitor relapsed/refractory myelofibrosis, as well as studies in other myeloid hematologic malignancies. Inhibiting telomerase activity, which is increased in malignant stem and progenitor cells in the bone marrow, aims to reduce proliferation and induce death of malignant cells. 

Psyence Biomed is the world’s first life science biotechnology company traded on the Nasdaq that is focused on the development of botanical psilocybin-based psychedelic medicines, and works with natural psilocybin products for the healing of psychological trauma and its mental health consequences in the context of palliative care. 

ImmunoPrecise Antibodies is a biotherapeutic research and technology company specializing in AI-driven antibody discovery and development. Through its subsidiaries, IPA delivers an end-to-end solution for the development of next-generation antibody therapeutics. The company integrates systems biology, multi-omics modeling, and artificial intelligence to enable the discovery of highly specialized, fully human therapeutic antibodies tailored to challenging disease targets.

iBio is a biotech company leveraging AI and advanced computational biology to develop next-generation biopharmaceuticals for cardiometabolic diseases, obesity, cancer and other hard-to-treat diseases. By combining proprietary 3D modeling with innovative drug discovery platforms, iBio is creating a pipeline of breakthrough antibody treatments to address significant unmet medical needs. Its mission is to transform drug discovery, accelerate development timelines, and unlock new possibilities in precision medicine.  

Jazz Pharmaceuticals is a global biopharmaceutical company whose purpose is to innovate to transform the lives of patients and their families. The company is dedicated to developing life-changing medicines for people with serious diseases — often with limited or no therapeutic options. It has a diverse portfolio of marketed medicines, including leading therapies for sleep disorders and epilepsy, and a growing portfolio of cancer treatments.

Recent news on these stocks:

February 28 

Wedbush is removing Geron from the firm’s Best Ideas List due to its investment price discipline. Wedbush has an Outperform rating on the shares with a price target of $7.

February 27

Barclays lowered the firm’s price target on Geron to $4 from $9 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares post the Q4 report. The firm updated its model to reflect the slowdown seen over the past two months, with a potential revenue turnaround in 2025. It likes the stock’s risk/reward at current levels.

Scotiabank lowered the firm’s price target on Geron to $4 from $6 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. While the company’s Q4 results were in line with expectations, the shares are weaker following management comments that the Rytelo launch in lower-risk myelodysplastic syndromes has slowed, the firm tells investors. Scotiabank believes the slowdown is a cause for concern at this stage of the launch.

Barclays raised the firm’s price target on Jazz Pharmaceuticals to $200 from $190 and kept an Overweight rating on the shares post the Q4 report. The firm says the company’s revenues were in line with consensus as Xywav and Epidiolex continue to deliver. Barclays sees Jazz as positioned for revenue growth in 2025.

B. Riley upgraded Madrigal Pharmaceuticals to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $422, up from $236. The firm notes the erosion of three key pillars to the prior cautious outlook, including Rezdiffra script volume growth within pre-cirrhotic metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis patients indication, expansion prospects within cirrhotic via the MAESTRO-MASH Outcomes trial data availability in 2027, the firm tells investors in a research note.

BofA raised the firm’s price target on Madrigal Pharmaceuticals to $239 from $154 and kept an Underperform rating on the shares. The Q4 updates, which included “favorable” two-year OLE data, were “positive” and Rezdiffra’s launch has been “robust” despite the firm’s initial concerns, the firm tells investors. However, while BofA recognizes room for further near-term sales upside, the extent to which this has already been priced into shares and the “aggressive expansion” of 2025 and later forecasts are “concerning,” adds the firm, which sees increasing downside risks despite Madrigal’s successes.

Citizens JMP raised the firm’s price target on Madrigal Pharmaceuticals to $443 from $427 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. New 2-year data in cirrhotic patients showing a reduction in liver stiffness greater than Akero (AKRO) recently reported for its Fibroblast Growth Factor 21 analog efruxifermin, putting Rezdiffra front of mind as a potential solution to the highest unmet need metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis patients, the firm tells investors in a research note. Citizens JMP believes 2025 consensus revenue estimate of $511M is “woefully low” when looking at the number of patients on Rezdiffra at year end-2024 and assuming a very conservative, declining patient growth rate.

Oppenheimer raised the firm’s price target on Madrigal Pharmaceuticals to $475 from $400 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares following quarterly results. The firm sees the new data in the F4c population, together with implications from the recent Phase 2 SYMMETRY results for EFX, as derisking the MAESTRO-NASH OUTCOMES study that remains on track to readout in 2027. With this promising update, Oppenheimer increases its probability of success for the F4 population.

Citi raised the firm’s price target on Madrigal Pharmaceuticals to $469 from $378 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares post the Q4 report. Madrigal exceeded sales expectations for Rezdiffra for the third consecutive quarter since its launch in Q2 of 2024, the firm tells investors in a research note. Citi says that while it expects some degree of seasonal headwinds in Q1, it believes the therapy will continue building momentum as Madrigal broadens its prescriber base and deepens its penetration at top targets.

H.C. Wainwright raised the firm’s price target on Madrigal Pharmaceuticals to $405 from $400 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares following the Q4 report. The firm says momentum continues to build supporting Rezdiffra’s potential to treat patients with compensated metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis cirrhosis. Wainwright says a “stellar first year of Rezdiffra launch instills a high degree of confidence and conviction in our blockbuster sales trajectory.”

Cognition Therapeutics announced the publication of a manuscript reviewing recent work supporting the potential of zervimesine, a small molecule drug candidate to treat dry age-related macular degeneration. The Journal of Nature Scientific Reports has published the paper online. Several separate studies were conducted and are reported in this manuscript: an analysis of cerebrospinal fluid collected from participants of two Alzheimer’s disease clinical trials to identify the impact of zervimesine treatment on disease-relevant proteins; a separate analysis of these CSF samples to identify pathways associated with dry AMD that were altered by treatment with zervimesine; an in vitro study conducted in collaboration with researchers at the University of Southampton, UK to investigate zervimesine’s ability to rescue important cellular processes in a cell model of dry AMD. Mary Hamby, Cognition Therapeutic’s VP of research explained, “We analyzed CSF samples from studies of zervimesine in adults with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease. From this, we found that treatment with zervimesine altered proteins and pathways strongly associated with geographic atrophy and macular degeneration. These findings support the potential of zervimesine to impact pathways impaired in retinal diseases.”

February 26

Geron reported Q4 losses per share of (4c), with consensus at (5c), and Q4 revenue of $47.54M, with consensus at $45.29M. 

H.C. Wainwright downgraded Geron to Neutral from Buy without a price target following the Q4 report. The shift in guidance for interim data from the IMpactMF study to the second half of 2026 creates a lack of near-term meaningful catalysts, the firm tells investors in a research note. Wainwright says Geron is changing its launch strategy after Rytelo’s eight-week and four-week trends showed flat revenues since the holiday season. It cites the delayed data and strategy shift for the downgrade.

ImmunoPrecise Antibodies announced a strategic collaboration with Ribopro. This collaboration seeks to revolutionize the discovery and development of therapeutic antibodies by integrating Ribopro’s advanced mRNA-based antigen expression expertise with IPA’s in silico and wet-lab antibody discovery capabilities. Together, the two companies aim to accelerate and enhance the development of novel therapeutics by improving antigen presentation and immune responses, a critical step in antibody discovery.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals reported positive two-year results from the open-label compensated MASH cirrhosis arm of the Phase 3 MAESTRO-NAFLD-1 trial of Rezdiffra. Patients treated with Rezdiffra achieved marked reductions in liver stiffness, a surrogate for fibrosis, measured by vibration-controlled transient elastography. The Phase 3 MAESTRO-NAFLD-1 trial of Rezdiffra included an open-label active treatment arm of patients with compensated MASH cirrhosis. Madrigal previously reported one-year results from this cohort. Following two years of treatment, 101 patients had VCTE results for analysis. Mean liver stiffness at baseline was 25 kPa and patients achieved a mean 6.7 kPa reduction in liver stiffness at two years (6.1 kPa at one year), which was statistically significant compared to baseline. This represents the largest reduction in liver stiffness reported to date in an F4c MASH population. In a responder analysis examining greater than or equal to25% improvement or worsening of liver stiffness, 51% of patients achieved improvement. An improvement of this magnitude has been associated with reduced progression to end-stage liver disease. The safety and tolerability profile of Rezdiffra in the compensated MASH cohort of MAESTRO-NAFLD-1 was consistent with other Rezdiffra clinical trials, with a low rate of discontinuations due to adverse events.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals reported Q4 losses per share of ($2.71), with consensus at ($4.12), and Q4 revenue of $103.3M, with consensus at $97.81M. 

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals reported Q4 results and provided a 2-year update from the open-label metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis compensated F4 arm of the Phase 3 MAESTRO-NAFLD-1 trial, which showed baseline vibration-controlled transient elastography/liver stiffness of 25 kPa, 1-year reduction of 6.1 kPa, and 2-year reduction of 6.7 kPa, which was statistically significant, UBS tells investors in a research note. The firm says the data is “encouraging” and thinks the company sounds “upbeat” in terms of commercial trajectory, expanding the depth of prescribers. UBS has a Buy rating and $441 price target on the shares.

Baird downgraded Maravai Lifesciences to Neutral from Outperform with a price target of $3, down from $9, after the company announced the postponement of its Q4 earnings and the filing of its annual report. Maravai had already been in the bottom tier of the firm’s Outperform-rated names given soft underlying market conditions, post-COVID normalization, margin reset, and execution challenges, and Tuesday’s update “adds incremental concern.”

Baird believes “this can be a distracting process” and creates an overhang for the stock.
Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Jazz Pharmaceuticals to Neutral from Overweight with a price target of $150, up from $140, after the company reported Q4 results. Xywav and Epidiolex continue to drive growth, so management’s increasing focus on oncology, despite most of the company’s revenue and growth coming from sleep and epilepsy treatments, presents a “strategic head-scratcher,” the firm tells investors. While an oncology expansion offers diversification and potential growth, the firm questions if this area is a “source of competitive advantage,” Cantor added.

TD Cowen raised the firm’s price target on Jazz Pharmaceuticals to $205 from $195 and kept a Buy rating on the shares. The firm said Q4 revenue came in above consensus supported by solid performance from Jazz’s oxybate business as well as Epidiolex.

Baird analyst Joel Beatty raised the firm’s price target on Jazz Pharmaceuticals to $167 from $162 and kept an Outperform rating on the shares. The firm noted the company has Epidiolex exclusivity into the very late 20230’s.

Cognition Therapeutics reported a positive outcome of an analysis of masked data from the ongoing “MAGNIFY” Phase 2 trial of zervimesine in adults with geographic atrophy secondary to dry age-related macular degeneration. The purpose of this type of analysis, known as a “futility analysis,” is to determine if a drug candidate is showing signals of efficacy. Cognition’s contract research organization conducted the analysis to protect the integrity of the clinical trial. Results of the futility analysis from the first 57 participants who completed at least 6 months of dosing showed that zervimesine-treated patients were experiencing a slower lesion growth rate than those on placebo.

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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.