A Big Upgrade for Onyx Pharmaceuticals
By
Dave Mock
July 24, 2008
|
Every day, the sun rises on Wall Street, and a plethora of professional analysts wake to issue new opinions on stocks. Here at the Fool, we use our "This Just In" column to examine some of these picks -- and the track records of the firms behind them -- so individuals can make better investing decisions.
In addition to following professional banks and brokerage houses, anyone can use Motley Fool CAPS to monitor the collective opinions of more than 110,000 members, many of whom demonstrate better investing insight than published analysts do.
Enough top-performing CAPS members have turned bullish on Onyx Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ONXX) recently to upgrade it from its long-held three-star rank to a more formidable four stars. Many of the 361 members who have given their opinion on Onyx have also offered analysis and commentary explaining the recent optimism.
Onyx’s one and only drug, Nexavar, was originally approved by the FDA in 2005 for treating kidney cancer. Sales of Nexavar are being challenged by competition from Pfizer's (NYSE: PFE) Sutent, but like one-drug peer Elan (NYSE: ELN), Onyx has seen sales increase recently. Thanks to the boost in sales from the widely anticipated 2007 FDA approval for Nexavar to treat liver cancer, Onyx management and investors are now looking to a broader future for the drug.
In the hopes of reaching consistent profitability, Onyx is currently conducting trials for a possible combination of Nexavar with Eli Lilly's (NYSE: LLY) Alimta, or with Tarceva from OSI Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: OSIP) and Genentech (NYSE: DNA). As Nexavar is the first and only approved systemic treatment for liver cancer, investors also hope to score big with its potential use in other treatments. CAPS members are certainly warming up to the increased prospects -- while significant risks remain regarding Onyx getting more treatments to market, 89% of the 361 CAPS members expect Onyx to outperform the market going forward.
To see what the very best CAPS members are saying now about Onyx -- as well as other winning stocks they are picking -- head on over to CAPS and have a look. The community research and resources in CAPS are totally free, unlike analyst opinions reserved for paying clients.
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