5 Top NASDAQ Biotech Stocks: Geron Leads This Week in Biotech

The NASDAQ Biotechnology Index (INDEXNASDAQ:NBI) saw a minor decrease this past week, and overall increase year-to-date (YTD). The index decreased by 3.96 percent to reach 3562.59 points as of 12:45 p.m. EST Friday (February 2). Overall, the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index is up 6.13 percent YTD.
A number of biotech stocks also saw gains last week, including:

• Geron (NASDAQ:GERN)
• Sunesis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SNSS)
• Aevi Genomic Medicine (NASDAQ:GNMX)
• Novelion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NVLN)
• Adverum Biotechnologies (NASDAQ:ADVM)

Many of the companies on the list this week work in oncology, and most of them have no recent company news, meaning other information is triggering the gains. Here take a look at what pushed these companies share prices to move.

Geron

Geron, is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company working on developing telomerase inhibitor, imetelstat, in hematologic myeloid malignancies—in other words, working in oncology to stop cancer cells and their process of rapid divide.
There are two trials underway for the candidate Imetelstat, IMbark is in the Phase 2 trial and IMerge is in the Phase 2/3 trial. Without recent news it’s hard to say how the share price jumped so much in the last week, investors may be anticipating positive trial results soon.
Top on our list, Geron increased 30.19 percent since last week, raising their stock price to $2.85. In the last month, the stock price increased 42.37 percent.

Sunesis Pharmaceuticals

Another biopharmaceutical company, Sunesis, is also working on new oncology therapeutics, specifically for hematologic and solid tumor cancers through Kinase-inhibitor pipeline. There are three analyst ratings for this company, two whom recommend a buy rating and the other for a hold. The company is projected to reach a high of $8.00 per share price in the next year, according to TipRanks.
In the past week, Sunesis’s stock price went up 23.43 percent to reach $5.62. In the last month, the share price increased 46.63 percent.

Aevi Genomic Medicine

Still a company focused on creating treatments guided by genomics, Aevi, is a clinical stage company with three ongoing clinical trails all in the Phase 2 stage. One program with Aevi-001 is working to treat genetic subset ADHD and autism spectrum disorder, the other Aevi-002 may treat severe paediatric onset Crohn’s disease.
Aevi’s share price went up to $2.14 in the past week moving 19.12 percent. It’s been a big month for the company as their share prices gained 73.4 percent.

Novelion Therapeutics

This company, and it’s subsidiary Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, has two products approved and on the market and three products still in the clinical-stage all for rare diseases like homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia—an inherited genetic disorder which affects the body’s ability to control cholesterol.
Novelion Therapeutics finally settled a sentencing with Aegerion after a judge rejected an initial please deal in November 2017, reported by Reuters. Novelion agreed to pay $40.1 million aggregate penalty, which agree with the company’s previous filings. Stock prices may have raised because the settlement is now over and Novelion can move forward.
Over last week’s trading period, shares of  Novelion increased by 9.96 percent to reach a stock price of $4.97.

Adverum Biotechnologies

This clinical-stage gene therapy company is targeting rare, and ocular diseases and severe allergy. On January 25, Adverum announced it will continue a research collaboration with Editas Medicine (NASDAQ:EDIT), through to the third quarter of 2018. Together hope to study the delivery of genome editing medicine, ideally treating up to five inherited retinal diseases, momentum from this announcement could be what is pushing the stock price again this week.
The company gained 7.14 percent last week with an updated $7.36 stock price mid-day Friday. In the last month, Adverum share price increased by 101.37 percent. Adverum was top on our list two weeks ago (January 28) and the only to stay on the list for this week.
Don’t forget to follow @INN_LifeScience for real-time updates!
Data for 5 Top NASDAQ Stocks articles is retrieved Friday at 12:45 p.m. EST through The Globe and Mail’s market data filter. Only companies with a market capitalization greater than $50 million and lower than $500 million prior to the week’s gains are included. Companies within the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors are considered.
Securities Disclosure: I, Gabrielle Lakusta, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

**This article is updated each week. Please scroll to the top for the most recent information**

5 Top NASDAQ Biotech Stocks: Adverum Top Biotech Stock So Far in 2018

By Gabrielle Lakusta, Published January 28 2018
The NASDAQ Biotechnology Index (INDEXNASDAQ:NBI) saw a minor increase this past week. The index increased by 3.67 percent to reach 3708.63 points as of 1:15 p.m. EST Friday (January 26). Overall, the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index is up 1.07 percent year-to-date.
A number of biotech stocks also saw gains last week, including:

• Adverum Biotechnologies (NASDAQ:ADVM)
• Catalyst Biosciences (NASDAQ:CBIO)
• vTv Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VTVT)
• Cerecor (NASDAQ:CERC)
• MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD)

Here take a look at what pushed these companies share prices to move.

Adverum Biotechnologies

This clinical-stage gene therapy company is targeting rare, and ocular diseases and severe allergy.  On Thursday (January 25), Adverum announced it will continue a research collaboration with Editas Medicine (NASDAQ:EDIT), through to the third quarter of 2018. Together hope to study the delivery of genome editing medicine, ideally treating up to five inherited retinal diseases.
The company gained 43.88 percent last week with $6.97 mid-day Friday. In the last month, Adverum share price increased by 104.35 percent.

Catalyst Biosciences

Though there hasn’t been any news from Catalyst this week, they did initiate Phase 2/3 Trial for their drug Marzeptacog Alfa on January 4. The rise in stocks for the company may have been a continuation of interest from investors starting this new phase of the trial. Catalyst has a focus on developing medicines for serious conditions, one of which is a pipeline are for hemostasis, to manage blot clots for the rare blood disorder.
In last month, shares of Catalyst have increased by 80.13 percent. With its stock priced at $24.59, last week its share price increased 26.53 percent alone.

vTv Therapeutics

Though the company hasn’t had any news in 2018, at the end of last year vTv Therapeutics had an array of positive news. Such as initiating Phase 1b/2 of the study evaluating a treatment for Type 1 Diabetes, and entering a licensing agreement with Reneo Pharmaceuticals. vTv is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company with a range of pre-clinical drug candidates for Central Nervous System disorders, and cancer, among others.
In the past week, vTv’s stocks went up 27.54 percent to reach $7.29. Likely from the positive news in late 2017, the company had a 76.46 increase in its share price over the last month.

MannKind

With a single product consisting of an Insulin inhaler called Afrezza, Mannkind also didn’t have any big news this year which could account for their gains. Mid-last week the company had gains as high as 40 percent, one article credits the dip to Mannkind’s low cash and unsatisfactory sales for their product.
By Friday,  its stock price was valued at at $2.94, which was a 17.87 percent increase from the previous week. Overall in the last month, MannKind had a share price increase of 25.43 percent, but we’ll have to see in the coming weeks if the stocks continue to increase.

Cerecor

Cerecor is trying to create medicine for some of the global top sources of time lost to disabilities, such as mental and behavioural disorders, focusing on the CNS. Without any news this year, the company’s stocks may be doing well from the positive news in November 2017 of announcing a leadership change, and acquiring TRx Pharmaceuticals.
Over last week’s trading period, shares of  Cerecor increased by 17.35 percent to reach $3.46.
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 $50 million and lower than $500 million prior to the week’s gains are included. Companies within the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors are considered.
Securities Disclosure: I, Gabrielle Lakusta, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.