H.C. Wainwright Reiterates Buy Rating on Halozyme Therapeutics (HALO)

H.C. Wainwright analyst Mitchell Kapoor reiterated a Buy rating and $68.00 price target on Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ: HALO).

The analyst commented: "Last week, the FDA granted approval to the subcutaneous (SC) version of Bristol-Myers Squibb's (BMY; not rated) PD-1 inhibitor, OPDIVO (nivolumab)—the SC version, dubbed OPDIVO Qvantig, leverages Halozyme's ENHANZE (hyaluronidase) to enable easier and faster administration. The approval incudes usage across the following: (1) approved adult, solid tumor OPDIVO indications as monotherapy; (2) monotherapy maintenance following completion of OPDIVO plus YERVOY (ipilimumab) combination therapy; or (3) in combination with chemotherapy or cabozantinib. The approval spans renal cell carcinoma (RCC), melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), urothelial carcinoma (UC), colorectal cancer (CRC), hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), esophageal carcinoma, gastric cancer (GC), gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancer, and esophageal adenocarcinoma. OPDIVO Qvantig is not indicated in combination with intravenous (IV) ipilimumab. Importantly, the subcutaneous OPDIVO Qvantig formulation can be delivered in about three to five minutes vs. 30 minutes for the IV OPDIVO formulation, creating impressive advantages on ease of administration and time savings for patients and clinicians. See our note, SC Opdivo Notches Win for data supporting the approval. In our view, the advent of SC Opdivo is an important advance for Bristol, which needs this to compete more effectively against the Merck & Co. (MRK; not rated) juggernaut, KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab). Merck now appears slightly behind in the race to a subcutaneous PD-1 inhibitor. We reiterate our Buy rating and 12-month price target of $68 per share."

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Halozyme Therapeutics click here. For more ratings news on Halozyme Therapeutics click here.

Shares of Halozyme Therapeutics closed at $48.13 yesterday.

You May Also Be Interested In

• Bernstein SocGen Group Starts Terawulf Inc. (WULF) at Outperform
• Aeva Technologies files mixed shelf offering registration
• Meta plans 'Hatch' AI agent priced at up to $200/month - The Information