What happened
Shares of Editas Medicine (EDIT 1.92%) were soaring 11.2% higher as of 10:41 a.m. ET on Friday after vaulting as much as 24% earlier in the day. The big gain came after Stifel analyst Dae Gon Ha upgraded the stock from hold to buy. Ha also increased the 12-month price target for Editas from $9 to $17.
So what
Why is Stifel now so much more bullish about the gene-editing stock? Ha wrote in a note to investors that investors haven't given Editas enough credit for its progress with EDIT-301 in treating sickle cell disease.
The company is currently evaluating EDIT-301, a CRISPR gene-editing therapy, in early-stage clinical studies targeting sickle cell disease (SCD) and transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia (TDT). Both are rare blood disorders caused by genetic mutations.
Editas is well behind CRISPR Therapeutics and its partner, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, in developing a gene-editing therapy for SCD and TDT. CRISPR Therapeutics and Vertex await Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval decisions for exa-cel in both indications. However, Stifel's Ha thinks that Editas' valuation should be more in line with what CRISPR Therapeutics' valuation was at this stage of development.
Now what
Editas expects to complete the dosing of EDIT-301 with 20 SCD patients by the end of 2023. The company plans to provide more updates on its clinical studies of the experimental therapy in both SCD and TDT by year-end as well.
It's possible that Editas could receive a boost from good news for CRISPR Therapeutics and Vertex. The FDA is scheduled to make an approval decision for those two companies on exa-cel in treating SCD by Dec. 8, with a decision on approval for treating TDT by March 30, 2024.
