What happened
Shares of Veru (VERU 0.84%) were vaulting 9.8% higher as of 3:29 p.m. EDT on Thursday. The gain came after Jefferies analyst Chris Howerton increased his price target on the stock to $22 from $19.
So what
Investors shouldn't make decisions based solely on analysts' views. However, it's good to understand why an analyst is more bullish about the biotech stock.
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In this case, Howerton seems to think that the prospects for Veru are better than they've been in the past. The company reported record revenue and gross profit in the second quarter thanks to increased sales of the FC2 internal female condom.
Veru also has a lot of pipeline activity. It's enrolling patients in a late-stage clinical study evaluating sabizabulin in treating COVID-19 patients at high risk for acute respiratory distress syndrome. A late-stage study of VERU-100 in treating prostate cancer is underway. The company plans to begin phase 2 and 3 testing of sabizabulin in treating breast cancer this year as well.
Now what
The next major catalyst for Veru should be on the way soon. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) established a PDUFA date for December 2021 for its decision on approval of Tadfin in benign prostatic hyperplasia (enlargement of the prostate gland).
