What happened
Atossa Therapeutics (ATOS 0.67%) stock closed just over 20% higher on Tuesday. The surge was due to a modest but impactful price target raise from an analyst tracking the company.
So what
Prognosticator Edward Woo lifted said price target on Atossa to an even $8 per share from the previous $7.75. The new level is slightly more than twice the most recent closing price of the clinical-stage biotech. Almost needless to say, Woo has a buy rating on the stock; this remained unchanged with the price target raise.
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Atossa's most promising pipeline drug is Endoxifen, an oral treatment for breast cancer. Recently, it has also been developing a pair of medications for COVID-19. Since breast cancer is a particularly devastating and relatively widespread ailment, the company has great upside potential if Endoxifen tests well.
So far, it has done so. In February, the company announced that a phase 2 clinical study conducted in Australia showed "overwhelmingly positive" results in reducing tumor cell activity.
Now what
Woo has been very bullish on Atossa from the get-go. He initiated coverage on the stock with a buy recommendation last September. Slapping a $7 per-share price target on it at the time, he wrote that "this valuation appropriately balances out the company's high risks with the company's high growth prospects and large upside opportunities."
If Endoxifen continues to perform as it did in that Australian trial, those opportunities could indeed be significant. Atossa is a biotech very much worth watching.
