Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What: Shares of Halozyme Therapeutics (HALO -0.55%), a developer of human enzymes that alter human tissue and allow for the easier delivery of injected drugs, surged as much as 10% after receiving an analyst upgrade.
So what: After the closing bell last night Halozyme received an upgrade from research firm UBS to buy from neutral, with the firm also boosting its price target 14% to $16. Specifically, the covering analyst, Andrew Peters, honed in on Halozyme's lower risk associated with three already approved products, the recent removal of PEGPH20 from clinical hold being a positive, and the strong launch of Herceptin-SC, a subcutaneous dosing of Herceptin, which can be done in a fraction of the time as a standard infusion and for which Halozyme receives a percentage of sales from Roche.
Now what: I've said it before and I'll say it again: You need to get Halozyme Therapeutics on your watchlist. Herceptin-SC/MabThera-SC offer a big boost in patient convenience compared to an infusion, and I would suggest this combo may deliver blockbuster potential in due time, meaning Halozyme could be nearing a turn toward full-year profitability. With a robust pipeline that includes a number of big-name collaborations as well as proprietary in-house studies I suspect that Halozyme shares could have significant room to run higher over the long run.
