5 Top NASDAQ Biotech Stocks: Infinity Pharmaceuticals Gains 84 Percent

The NASDAQ Biotechnology Index (INDEXNASDAQ:NBI) was on the decline last week, dipping 1.11 points to 3,524.92 points as of 1:27 p.m. EST on Friday (October 13).
That being said,  the overall index’s drop didn’t seem to have a negative impact on some biotech and pharma stocks. Case in point, shares of one company in particular rose over 80 percent during the 5 day trading period.
Here’s a look at last week’s top biotech and pharma stocks on the NASDAQ:

• Infinity Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:INFI)
• Sorrento Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SRNE)
• CASI Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CASI)
• KalVista Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KALV)
• Prima BioMed (NASDAQ:PBMD)

Here’s a closer look at those companies.
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Infinity Pharmaceuticals

Last week, Infinity Pharmaceuticals was third in our 5 top  NASDAQ biotech stocks, but holds the number one position this week. Infinity Pharmaceuticals is a company that looks to treat a number of diseases and develops small molecule drugs that target disease pathways for applications in oncology.
On Thursday (October 12), the company announced that its 0IPI-549 had been selected as a late-breaking presentation for the 2017 Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer taking place November 10-12 in National Harbor. The news may have impacted the company’s share price, which rose 83.65 percent to $2.93 as of 2:12 p.m. EST on Friday.

Sorrento Therapeutics

Next is Sorrento Therapeutics, a company involved in the discovery, acquisition, development and commercialization of drug therapeutics. Sorrento’s main focus is on oncology.
Some of its forthcoming milestones includes: IND Filing CD38 CAR-T (Phase I) in 2017 and IND Filing CD38 ADC (Phase 2) in 2018, both in immuno-oncology. Meanwhile, its pain management platforms have an FDA review of ZTlido completed submission pending for Q1 2018, and a Phase IB completion RTX intractable cancer pain trials slated for Q2 2018.
That being said, Sorrento didn’t have any news during the week that could relate to its rising share price. Over the five-day period shares of the company increased 77.78 percent to $3.19 as of 2:21 p.m. EST on Friday.

CASI Pharmaceuticals

Middle of the pack on our top NASDAQ biotech stocks roundup is CASI Pharmaceuticals.
The company’s main focus is on cancer therapeutics as well as other unmet medical needs, with a primary focus in the US and Chinese markets.  More specifically, CASI’s pipeline products include: EVOMELA, MARQIBO, and ZEVALIN, which have been FDA approved from Spectrum Pharmaceuticals.
On October 13, the company announced a $23.8 million registered direct offering, which likely contributed to its share price gains over the week. As of 2:32 p.m.EST on Friday, shares of CASI increased 46.28 percent to $2.66.

KalVista Pharmaceuticals

Next is KalVista Pharmaceuticals.  KalVista is developing plasma kallikrein inhibitors to treat hereditary angioedema and diabetic macular edma.
On October 1, the company announced a collaboration with Merck (NYSE:MRK) to continue development of KVD001, among other things. As a result, it’s no surprise KalVista’s share price was on the rise last week, soaring 32.41 percent to $9.79 as of 2:42 p.m. EST on Friday.

Prima BioMed

Rounding out our top NASDAQ biotech stocks is Prima BioMed.  The company’s focus is on developing immunotherapeutic products for cancer and autoimmune diseases, and has operations in Australia and Europe. Its flagship product is IMP321, which is the clinical development stage for treating cancer indications.
Last week, shares of the company climbed 21.61 percent to $2.42 as of 2:43 p.m. EST on Friday.
Don’t forget to follow @INN_LifeScience for real-time updates!
Data for 5 Top NASDAQ Stocks articles is retrieved each Friday after market close using The Globe and Mail’s market data filter. Only companies with a market capitalization greater than $10 million prior to the week’s gains are included. Companies within the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors are considered.
Securities Disclosure: I, Jocelyn Aspa, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

The NASDAQ Biotechnology Index (INDEXNASDAQ:NBI) was on the upward swing again last week, rising 1.69 points to reach 3,552.58 points as of 12:49 p.m. EST on Friday (October 6). 
As a result, a number of biotechnology and pharmaceutical stocks made gains over the trading week as well, with some rising as high as 52 percent.
With that in mind, here are last week’s top gainers on the NASDAQ:

• Rigel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RIGL)
• Endologix (NASDAQ:ELGX)
• Infinity Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:INFI)
• Sierra Oncology (NASDAQ:SRRA)
• Apollo Endosurgery (NASDAQ:APEN)

Here’s a closer look at those companies.

Rigel Pharmaceuticals

First on our top NASDAQ biotech stocks list it Rigel Pharmaceuticals.
Rigel’s focus is on discovering, developing and providing small molecule drugs for patients with hematological disorders, cancers and rare diseases. Currently, Rigel’s clinical programs are clinical trials of fostamatinib and has submitted an NDA to the FDA for fostamatinib in patients with immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP).
On that note, last week the company had a number of press releases, including an update on the FDA review of fostamatinib for ITP,  the completed enrollment of Stage 1 of its Phase 2 Study of autoimmune hemolytic anemia, and the pricing of the public offering of common stock. As a result, it’s no big surprise the company holds the number one position of the 5 top NASDAQ biotech stocks: last week, shares of Rigel increased 53.54 percent to reach $3.92 as of 1:44 p.m. EST on Friday.

Endologix

Next on our top NASAQ biotech stocks list is Endologix, a company that develops, manufactures, markets and sells medical devices to treat aortic disorders.
Endologix’s current product provides a number of endovascular stent grafts to treat abdominal aortic aneurysms with the protection of over 108 patents.  On Friday, the company announced it had received IDE approval from the FDA to start a confirmatory clinical study to evaluate the Nellix EndoVascular aneurysm sealing system, which no doubt helped its share price. Over the five-day trading period, shares of Endologix increased 28.92 percent to reach $5.77 as of 1:57 p.m. EST on Friday.

Infinity Pharmaceuticals

Middle of the pack is Infinity Pharmaceuticals, a company that looks to treat a number of diseases and develops small molecule drugs that target disease pathways for applications in oncology.
That being said, the company did not have any news during the week that could relate to its rising share price. Over the five-day period, Infinity’s stock climbed 21.73 percent to $1.61 as of 2:10 p.m. EST on Friday.

Sierra Oncology

Sierra Oncology, a clinical stage drug development company that is looking to advance DNA Damage Response therapeutics to treat cancer.
On Wednesday (October 4), the company announced it will host a Key Opinion Leader luncheon called “Beyond PARP: The Clinical Potential of Next Generation DNA Damage Response Therapeutics” on October 12, which may have impacted its share price increase. Over the week, Sierra’s stock rose 20 percent to $1.86 as of 2:01 p.m. EST on Friday.

 Apollo Endosurgery

Closing out our 5 top NASDAQ biotech stocks list is Apollo Endosurgery, a medical device company with a focus on treating obesity and other gastrointestinal disorders. The company’s products are currently available in roughly 80 countries.
Last week, shares of Apollo increased 15.17 percent to $5.39 as of 1:58 p.m. EST on Friday, although there was no company news during the week that could relate to its share price increase.
Don’t forget to follow @INN_LifeScience for real-time updates!
Data for 5 Top NASDAQ Stocks articles is retrieved each Friday after market close using The Globe and Mail’s market data filter. Only companies with a market capitalization greater than $10 million prior to the week’s gains are included. Companies within the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors are considered.
Securities Disclosure: I, Jocelyn Aspa, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.