What happened
Shares of Tango Therapeutics (TNGX 1.50%), a biotech company that specializes in target cancer therapies, rose 39.7% this week, according to data from S&P Global Intelligence. The stock closed at $5.17 last Friday, then opened at $5.34 on Monday. Its shares climbed throughout the week and rose to as high as $7.49 before closing at $7.25 on Friday. The stock has a 52-week low of $3.18 and a high of $14.31 and is down more than 37% this year.
So what
The company announced on Wednesday that preclinical information on two of its drug candidates in its pipeline would be presented at a symposium on cancer therapeutics in Barcelona later this month.
The company's lead therapy, TNG908, is enrolling patients in an ongoing phase 1/2 trial to treat malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors. The other candidate, TNG462, is being investigated to treat multiple tumor types. Both therapies attempt to fix mutated methylthioadenosine phosphorylase (MTAP) genes that make them less resistant to tumors.
Another reason the stock might be rising is that analysts are starting to take notice of the company, with several upgrading their analysis of Tango after it posted earlier preclinical data.
Now what
Tango is a small-cap stock with a market cap just below $6 million, so it is volatile, with just the slightest bit of news apt to send the stock jumping in one direction or another. Through six months, the company had no product revenue but posted $11.5 million in collaboration and licensing revenue, down from $13.5 million in the same period in 2021.
It also posted a net loss in the first half of $50 million, compared to a loss of $16.6 million through six months in 2021. The company has $416.4 million in cash, enough at its current burn rate to fund operations into 2026, giving long-term investors plenty of time to see results. As with any clinical-stage biotech company, there's plenty of risk mixed with the potential of big rewards.
