Since early 2020, I’ve been bullish on Inovio Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:INO) stock.
In fact, the first time I weighed in on the INO, it traded at just $4.86 a share. That was on Jan. 30. Now, just months later, it’s over $14 and shows no signs of slowing.
With a desperate need for a coronavirus vaccine, I only expect to see higher highs in the Inovio stock. All as the coronavirus continues to wreak global havoc, infecting nearly 4.4 million people around the world. In the U.S., the number of infected is more than 1.5 million. Over in Russia, the number of infections is up to 290,000. In the U.K., it’s up to 246,000.
Unfortunately, there are no vaccines yet, although a vaccine trail from Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) shows early promise.
Inovio Pharmaceuticals has its own potential vaccine that is in human trials. If results are as solid as the world hopes, I strongly believe the INO could quickly race to $20.
Inovio Hopes to See Strong Results in Human Trials
After its vaccine candidate demonstrated strong animal study results, Inovio Pharmaceuticals now hopes to see solid success in human trials, as well. So far, the company has enrolled 40 healthy volunteers in Phase 1 trials, and expects to post preliminary data by late June 2020.
Patients will receive two doses of the vaccine four weeks apart. If results are as solid as the animal studies, it may be able to move to Phase 2/3 trials by summer, pending approval. The company is also in Phase 1/2 human trials for the vaccine in South Korea after receiving $6.9 million in funding from the Coalition of Epidemic Preparedness (CEPI).
It’s also working with Beijing Advaccine Biotechnology to create a vaccine in China, as well. In fact, according to the company, “Inovio will leverage Advaccine’s expertise to conduct a Phase 1 trial in China in parallel with Inovio’s clinical development efforts in the U.S. and South Korea.”
Better, the trials are well funded. To date, CEPI has awarded Inovio more than $17.2 million, according to the company. The Department of Defense also gave it and Ology Bioservices $11.9 million for rapid production of the Inovio vaccine. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation also backed Inovio with a $5 million grant to accelerate testing.
The Vaccine Isn’t the Only Reason to Like INO Stock
While we wait on human trial results, there are other big reasons to like the INO stock. In announcing first-quarter earnings, INO President and CEO J. Joseph Kim, spoke glowingly of the company’s other efforts.
“Most importantly, while safely conducting global clinical trials during this COVID pandemic has been a significant challenge, INOVIO is on track to deliver key 2020 clinical and regulatory milestones including the planned reporting of REVEAL 1 Phase 3 top-line efficacy data for VGX-3100 in Q4 and the presentation of 12-month overall survival results from the Phase 1/2 clinical trial of INO-5401 immunotherapy in a very hard to treat cancer in glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) at the ASCO20 Virtual Conference later this month.”
Its VGX-3100 treatment just saw positive interim data in Phase 2 clinical trials in precancerous and vulvar dysplasias. And its INO-3107 just advanced to Phase 1/2 clinical trials to help treat rare orphan disease recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP).
The company is also in Phase 2 trials for INO-5151 for prostate cancer, Phase 2 trials of MEDi0457 for the treatment of neck and head cancer, and Phase 2 trials of INO-5401 for the treatment of glioblastoma.
In short, even when the coronavirus becomes a distant memory, and stocks like INO begin to pull back on the death of news, Inovio Pharmaceutical is not a one-trick pony. At the moment, I strongly believe INO is a strong buy on the coronavirus story.
If all goes well in human trials, $20 a share may be very low estimate.
Ian Cooper, a contributor to InvestorPlace.com, has been analyzing stocks and options for web-based advisories since 1999. As of this writing, Ian Cooper did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
