Elsa Ohlen

It can be hard to astonish analysts, especially those who have been in the business for a long time. Yet, one analyst told Barron's that "rarely in my 20 years as an analyst have I seen a company with so much potential." He was talking about the biotechnology company ImmunityBio.

EF Hutton analyst Jason Kolbert initiated coverage of ImmunityBio stock with a Buy rating and a $30 price target on Wednesday. That implies a startling 767% upside to its current share price of $3.46.

ImmunityBio is a San Diego, Calif.-based late-stage clinical biotech poised to revolutionize cancer immunotherapy, according to Kolbert.

The company's lead product Anktiva works by activating the body's natural immune system to eliminate tumor cells and provide long-term immune memory against cancer. It was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in April this year for adult patients with a cancer unresponsive to the most common intravesical immunotherapy $(BCG)$, non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.

Anktiva's ability to convert cold tumors into hot ones -- making them more responsive to immune attack -- is particularly impactful as cold tumors typically evade detection, Kolbert noted. This can potentially improve outcomes in various cancers, including those traditionally treated with checkpoint inhibitors, such as melanoma, lung, ovarian, and colorectal cancers, by making them more vulnerable to an immune system attack, he added.

The small-cap company has a market value of $2.8 billion, and has yet to report a quarterly profit since its listing on Nasdaq in March 2021, which isn't uncommon for start-up biotechs. The stock was trading sideways in the premarket Thursday and is down 31% so far this year.

ImmunityBio isn't the only company focused on developing novel cancer treatments. Another small biotech, Summit Therapeutics, said in September its cancer drug Ivonescimab outperformed leading cancer drug Keytruda from big pharma firm Merck in a head-to-head trial.

Both Keytruda and Anktiva are types of immunotherapy and Ivonescimab is an antibody treatment.

Write to Elsa Ohlen at elsa.ohlen@barrons.com

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October 24, 2024 09:50 ET (13:50 GMT)

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