5 Top Weekly NASDAQ Biotech and Pharma Stocks: Provention Soars

The NASDAQ Biotechnology Index (INDEXNASDAQ:NBI) was on the decline last week, dropping from 3,269.13 points on Monday (June 10) to 3,238.69 points as of 2:08 p.m. EDT on Friday (June 14).

Early in the period, Provention Bio (NASDAQ:PRVB) announced a public offering of its common stock, but by Thursday (June 13) the company said the public offering would be canceled.

The news landed the company at the top of last week’s list of gainers on the NASDAQ. The full list of top risers in the biotech and pharma spaces is as follows:

• Provention Bio
• Sunesis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SNSS)
• Enlivex Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ENLV)
• Osmotica Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:OSMT)
• BeyondSpring (NASDAQ:BYSI)

Here’s a closer look at those companies and what may have moved their share prices.

Provention Bio

Last week’s top gainer was Provention Bio, which is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing products for immune-mediated diseases. It intends to in-license product candidates for diseases such as: type 1 diabetes, Crohn’s disease, celiac disease, lupus and other life-threatening diseases.

After Provention Bio terminated the public offering of its common stock, shares of the company rose 154.25 percent to US$11 as of 2:17 p.m. EDT on Friday. Provention Bio said its reasoning for canceling the public offering was that it would not be in the “best interests” of its shareholders.

Sunesis Pharmaceuticals

Sunesis Pharmaceuticals’ area of focus is oncology therapeutics, in particular hematologic and solid tumor cancers. The company is advancing its novel kinase-inhibitor pipeline to treat ibrutinib-resistant chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Sunesis Pharmaceuticals didn’t have any news last week that could relate to its share price increase. The company rose 38.4 percent to US$0.95 as of 2:22 p.m. EDT on Friday.

Enlivex Therapeutics

Enlivex Therapeutics is developing products to balance the immune system, including ones for inflammatory conditions such as hyper-expression of cytokines and solid tumor immune-checkpoint balancing.

The company did not have any news last week, although it did reveal positive data on June 6 from its off-the-shelf cell therapy product that was being tested on three sepsis patients.

Over last week’s five day trading period, the company’s stock rose 36.36 percent to US$15.70 as of 2:24 p.m. EDT on Friday.

Osmotica Pharmaceuticals

Osmotica Pharmaceuticals’ area of focus is on developing neurology and women’s health products.

The company has five promoted products and 35 non-promoted products with its proprietary Osmodex drug delivery system. Its promoted products include methylphenidate HCl ER tablets and venlafaxine HCl ER tablets, as well as prescription and non-prescription dietary supplements.

Shares of Osmotica Pharmaceuticals were up 35.17 percent last week to US$3.18 as of 2:22 p.m. EDT on Friday. Despite its share price increase, the company did not have any news last week that relates to the price change.

BeyondSpring

Closing out the list is BeyondSpring, another company developing immuno-oncology cancer treatments. The company’s lead drug, Plinabulin, is in a Phase 3 clinical trial to treat non-small cell lung cancer in addition to Phase 2/3 clinical programs for chemotherapy-induced neutropenia.

Shares of BeyondSpring were up 34.54 percent last week to US$21.02 as of 2:40 p.m. EDT on Friday, although there was no news last week that could explain the share price increase.

Data for the 5 Top NASDAQ Biotech and Pharma Stocks articles is retrieved each Friday at 1:00 p.m. EDT using TradingView’s stock screener. Only companies with a market capitalization greater than US$15 million and lower than US$500 million prior to the week’s gains are included. Companies within the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors are considered.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Jocelyn Aspa, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.