Usually, when a biotech stock surges, it’s connected to a handful of reasons. One of the biggest is new approval from the Food and Drug Administration, and that’s about what happened to X4 Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XFOR), as it landed a new priority review at the FDA. It was enough to send shares up around 9% in Tuesday afternoon’s trading, down somewhat from its highs earlier in the day when it was up around 14%.
X4 Pharmaceuticals landed a priority review from the FDA for a drug known as mavorixafor, a drug geared toward treating several issues in children under 12. Mavorixafor treats a disease known as WHIM syndrome, which stands for “Warts, Hypogammaglobulinemia, Infections, and Myleokathexis.” WHIM syndrome is considered a rare immunodeficiency, but with this, patients with WHIM syndrome will be able to attack it with a once-daily oral treatment. Mavorixafor has already landed some key designations from the FDA, including “fast track,” “breakthrough therapy,” and even “rare pediatric disease.”
That’s good news for investors, as soon, X4 will likely have a major new drug in play. It’s also likely good news for X4’s creditors, like Hercules Capital. Hercules, back in August, offered up a $115 million loan facility to X4. At the time, X4 called it an opportunity to gain “…significant financial flexibility” as it moved to stage a commercial launch of mavorixafor. Now, with a priority review imminent with the FDA, the chances of it getting to market only improve.
Is X4 Pharmaceuticals a Buy or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on XFOR stock based on four Buys and one Hold assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average XFOR price target of $3 per share implies 276.18% upside potential.
