What happened
Shares of iBio (IBIO 0.37%) surged on Friday following positive analyst commentary. As of 1:35 p.m. EDT, the biologics manufacturer's stock was up more than 14%.
So what
Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Kristen Kluska placed an overweight rating on iBio's stock after the market close on Thursday. She sees the biotech's shares rising roughly 80% from their current price near $1.66, to $3.
iBio's shareholders could enjoy handsome gains, according to an analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald. Image source: Getty Images.
Kluska says iBio's stock is largely under the radar of most investors and that its current price fails to reflect the company's position as a leader in plant-based biologics manufacturing.
Now what
iBio's FastPharming system uses plants to produce proteins used in biological vaccines and medicines. It's a fast process (projects can go from gene sequencing to protein production in just three weeks) that allows therapeutics producers to rapidly and cost-effectively scale production.
Due in part to these benefits, iBio has signed manufacturing agreements with several biopharmaceutical companies in recent months. If it can continue to strike more deals (and the company's latest contract wins suggest it will), its stock price could quickly rise toward Kluska's $3 target.
