IVERIC bio (NASDAQ:ISEE) stock is rocketing higher on Friday and there’s a couple of catalysts behind the shares’ positive movement today.
First off, we have to talk about recent clinical trial results from Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS). Apellis Pharmaceuticals is a rival eye drug developer to IVERIC bio with both seeking to treat geographic atrophy.
Apellis Pharmaceuticals has the results from its OAKS and DERBY Phase 3 clinical trials. While the OAKS trial was successful in meeting its primary endpoint, the DERBY trial wasn’t. That’s a boon to ISEE stock as it means APLS may not have as strong of a hold on the geographic atrophy market.
The second major factor affecting ISEE stock on Friday is Stifel analyst Annabel Samimy initiating coverage of the shares. This coverage starts off with a buy rating and price target of $22 per share.
To put that in perspective, the consensus rating and price target for ISEE stock is buy and $19.33 per share, respectively. The consensus rating comes from three buys. Stifel’s price target also represents a potential 153% upside for the stock, as compared to the consensus 122.4%
With today’s news, ISEE stock is experiencing incredibly heavy trading. As of this writing, more than 92 million shares of the stock have changed hands. That’s a massive surge compared to the company’s daily average trading volume of about 2.1 million shares.
ISEE stock was up 71.2% as of Friday morning.
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On the date of publication, William White did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
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