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 GW Pharmaceuticals (GWPH +0.00%), a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on discovering and utilizing cannabinoid-based therapies to enact desired biologic effects, surged as much as 14% after receiving positive commentary and a big price hike from an analyst at Piper Jaffray.
So what: According to Piper Jaffray analyst Dr. Joshua Schimmer, GW's investigational epilepsy drug epidiolex, which is currently targeting Dravet syndrome, a rare type of epilepsy that affects children and young adults, appears to be on the right path to being a success. Describing epidiolex as having the right combination of safety and effectiveness, Schimmer boosted his company's price target on GW to $147 from $97, implying up to 53% upside based on Friday's closing price, and kept an "overweight" rating on the stock. In addition, Schimmer believes that Dravet syndrome is a stepping stone to other indications for epidiolex.
Now what: Since receiving an orphan drug designation for epidiolex in late February shares of GW have been on fire. The early data that we've received has indeed been suggestive of a nice balance of safety and efficacy which could lead to an approval for the treatment of Dravet syndrome. I would, however, continue to caution that we're talking about a company that's years upon years away from profitability, that'll have countless social obstacles to overcome with physicians for its use of cannabinoids from cannabis plants, and which is not guaranteed any additional indications for epidiolex as of yet. GW's valuation, at least to me, is looking frothier than ever and is certainly going to continue to keep me on the sidelines.
